息いき苦ぐるしい

い

き

ぐ

る

し

い

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

息苦しい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	息いき苦ぐるしい	息いき苦ぐるしくない
Polite	息いき苦ぐるしいです	息いき苦ぐるしくないですalso 息いき苦ぐるしくありません
Past polite	息いき苦ぐるしかったです	息いき苦ぐるしくなかったですalso 息いき苦ぐるしくありませんでした
Past	息いき苦ぐるしかった	息いき苦ぐるしくなかった
Te-form	息いき苦ぐるしくて	息いき苦ぐるしくなくて
Adverbial	息いき苦ぐるしく
Conditional	息いき苦ぐるしければ	息いき苦ぐるしくなければ
Tara conditional	息いき苦ぐるしかったら	息いき苦ぐるしくなかったら

Meanings

Describes physical difficulty breathing, often due to stuffy air, tight clothing, or a medical condition.

Used figuratively for an atmosphere, relationship, or situation that feels emotionally stifling or tense.

〈場ば所しょ〉の空くう気きが息いき苦ぐるしいthe air in a place is stifling
満まん員いん電でん車しゃの中なかは空くう気きが息いき苦ぐるしかった。
The air inside the crowded train was suffocating.
息いき苦ぐるしさを感かんじるto feel suffocated / stifled
その会かい議ぎの間あいだ、彼かれは息いき苦ぐるしさを感かんじていた。
During the meeting, he felt a sense of suffocation.
息いき苦ぐるしい雰ふん囲い気きan oppressive, tense atmosphere
上じょう司しがいると教きょう室しつは息いき苦ぐるしい雰ふん囲い気きになる。
The classroom becomes tense and oppressive when the boss is there.
〈事こと〉で息いき苦ぐるしくなるto feel stifled because of something
厳きびしい規き則そくで職しょく場ばが息いき苦ぐるしくなった。
The strict rules made the workplace feel stifling.

苦くるしいN3sense 1
息苦しい specifically describes trouble breathing or a stifling atmosphere, while 苦しい is the broader word for any kind of physical or mental pain and hardship.
重おも苦くるしい sense 2
重苦しい describes a heavy, gloomy mood or atmosphere, while 息苦しい in its figurative sense emphasizes a feeling of being unable to breathe freely under tension or pressure.
窮きゅう屈くつN1sense 2
窮屈 describes a cramped, restrictive feeling (physical or social), while 息苦しい focuses on the sensation of suffocation that such restriction can cause.
息いきが詰つまるN1
息苦しい is an adjective describing a stifling, hard-to-breathe feeling or atmosphere, while 息が詰まる is a verb phrase describing the sudden sensation of one's breath being blocked.

心こころ苦ぐるしいN1
心苦しい looks similar but means feeling sorry or guilty about something, whereas 息苦しい means physically or atmospherically suffocating.
息いき切ぎれN1
息苦しい is an adjective describing a suffocating or stuffy feeling, while 息切れ is a noun/verb for the condition of being out of breath or losing momentum.
寝ね苦ぐるしいN1
寝苦しい describes difficulty sleeping due to heat, noise, or worry, while 息苦しい describes physical difficulty breathing, such as in stuffy air or from anxiety.
重おも苦くるしい
息苦しい describes physical difficulty breathing or a suffocating sensation, while 重苦しい describes an emotionally or atmospherically heavy, oppressive quality.

Compound of 息 (iki, 'breath') + 苦しい (kurushii, 'painful, difficult'). The reading いきぐるしい reflects rendaku voicing of くるしい to ぐるしい.