also: ぐるしい
苦しい · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 苦しい | 苦しくない |
| Polite | 苦しいです | 苦しくないですalso 苦しくありません |
| Past polite | 苦しかったです | 苦しくなかったですalso 苦しくありませんでした |
| Past | 苦しかった | 苦しくなかった |
| Te-form | 苦しくて | 苦しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 苦しく | |
| Conditional | 苦しければ | 苦しくなければ |
| Tara conditional | 苦しかったら | 苦しくなかったら |
After running, it is hard to breathe.
最後の坂道は本当に苦しかった。
The final uphill stretch was really tough.
distressing; emotionally painful; awkward
Used for mental or emotional strain, including a painful feeling, a stressful situation, or an awkward position one is put in.
友達にうそをついているのが苦しい。
It is painful to keep lying to my friend.
彼は苦しい立場に立たされた。
He was put in an awkward position.
financially tight; needy; struggling
Common with words such as 生活, 家計, 経営, and 財政 to describe tight or strained circumstances, especially financial ones.
今月は家計が苦しい。
Money is tight for the household this month.
店の経営はかなり苦しいらしい。
It seems the shop's business situation is quite strained.
Used when an explanation, excuse, interpretation, smile, or performance feels forced, unconvincing, or not quite natural.
その説明は少し苦しい。
That explanation is a little strained.
彼の言い訳はかなり苦しかった。
His excuse was pretty lame.
hard to do; unpleasant to do
Only with reading ぐるしい
Suffix after the masu-stem of a verb, often pronounced ぐるしい in compounds. It forms adjectives meaning that the action or state is difficult, uncomfortable, or unpleasant, as in 寝苦しい and 見苦しい.
See also: 寝苦しい (ねぐるしい) · 見苦しい (みぐるしい)
蒸し暑くて寝苦しい夜だった。
It was a hot, humid night that made it hard to sleep.
人前で見苦しい態度を取らないでください。
Please do not behave in an unpleasant or embarrassing way in front of others.
He was blamed for the lie and put in an awkward position.
Since our father got sick, our family has been living in financial hardship.
That shop is continuing to struggle financially.
She answered the question with a pained expression on her face.
He gave a strained explanation for why he was late.
In the final stretch, the team was forced into a tough fight.
苦しい highlights the pain or distress of a hard situation, whereas きつい is a more general, everyday word for anything tough to bear.
苦しい describes financial hardship in general terms, while 窮屈 specifically conveys the feeling of a budget being tight or strained.
choking; suffocating; stifling · oppressive; heavy
unsightly; ugly; shameful
stiff; formal; ceremonious; strict
painful; feeling sorry; regretful
sultry; sweltering; oppressively hot · uncomfortably hot-looking; stuffy-looking
heavy; oppressive; gloomy; stifling
out of desperation; as a last resort; driven by pain
unable to sleep well; difficult to sleep
pain; anguish; suffering; hardship
cramped; confined; uncomfortably narrow
tightness in the chest; oppressive feeling in the chest
suffer; complain of pain
messy; shabby; scruffy; dirty; squalid
stiff; formal; ceremonious; strict
unpleasant to hear; harsh on the ears · difficult to hear; hard to make out
writhe in agony; struggle painfully
no problem; it's fine; don't worry