手こずる · godan verb (-ru)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 手こずる | 手こずらない |
| Polite | 手こずります | 手こずりません |
| Past polite | 手こずりました | 手こずりませんでした |
| Past | 手こずった | 手こずらなかった |
| Te-form | 手こずって | 手こずらないで |
| Desire | 手こずりたい | 手こずりたくない |
| Potential | 手こずれる | 手こずれない |
| Passive | 手こずられる | 手こずられない |
| Causative | 手こずらせる | 手こずらせない |
| Causative passive | 手こずらせられるalso 手こずらされる | 手こずらせられないalso 手こずらされない |
| Volitional | 手こずろう | |
| Polite volitional | 手こずりましょう | |
| Imperative | 手こずれ | 手こずるな |
| Conditional | 手こずれば | 手こずらなければ |
| Tara conditional | 手こずったら | 手こずらなかったら |
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
have a hard time; struggle; be at a loss
Used when something is difficult to deal with or manage, causing trouble or frustration. Often implies being unable to handle a person, task, or situation smoothly.
I'm having trouble figuring out how to use the new software.
He had a hard time with the stubborn customer.
Many teachers have a hard time dealing with mischievous children.
I ended up struggling with the difficult problem.
I'm having trouble figuring out how to handle the new machine.
苦戦する describes struggling in a contest, match, or competitive effort, while 手こずる is used more broadly for any troublesome person, object, or task.
手こずる is a near-synonym meaning to have trouble managing someone or something, almost interchangeable with 手を焼く but slightly more casual in tone.
Rare kanji form using 梃子摺; not recommended for learners.
Rare kanji form; the middle kanji 子 is a phonetic substitute.
Rare kanji form; omits the initial 手.