Common word› JLPT N3 › Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation 苦しむ · godan verb (-mu)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 苦くる しむ 苦くる しまない Polite 苦くる しみます 苦くる しみません Past polite 苦くる しみました 苦くる しみませんでした Past 苦くる しんだ 苦くる しまなかった Te-form 苦くる しんで 苦くる しまないで Desire 苦くる しみたい 苦くる しみたくない Potential 苦くる しめる 苦くる しめない Passive 苦くる しまれる 苦くる しまれない Causative 苦くる しませる 苦くる しませない Causative passive 苦くる しませられる also 苦くる しまされる 苦くる しませられない also 苦くる しまされない Volitional 苦くる しもう Polite volitional 苦くる しみましょう Imperative 苦くる しめ 苦くる しむな Conditional 苦くる しめば 苦くる しまなければ Tara conditional 苦くる しんだら 苦くる しまなかったら
Pairs with 苦しめる › Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 に 苦くる しむ to suffer from (a condition or problem)
He has been suffering from illness for a long time.
〈 事こと 〉 で 苦くる しむ to suffer because of (a cause)
Many people suffer because of poverty.
〈 人ひと 〉 が 苦くる しみもがく to writhe in agony; to struggle in pain
Nearly drowning, he struggled and writhed in the water.
Expressions 理り 解かい に 苦くる しむ be unable to understand; be beyond comprehension; baffle 生う みの 苦くる しみ labor pains; birth pangs · throes of creation; struggle to produce something new 飢う えに 苦くる しむ suffer from hunger; be tormented by hunger Transitive / intransitive 苦しむ is intransitive, meaning 'to suffer' or 'be in pain', while 苦しめる is its transitive counterpart, 'to cause someone to suffer'.
Related words· 6 悩む centers on mental worry or indecision, while 苦しむ covers a wider range of suffering, including physical pain and hardship.
患う specifically means to suffer from an illness, whereas 苦しむ is a broader term for any kind of suffering, physical or mental.
苦しむ is a general verb for suffering physically or mentally, while 喘ぐ specifically evokes visible, desperate struggling, as in 不況に喘ぐ .
苦しむ is the broad, general word for suffering physically or mentally, while 悶える specifically evokes visible writhing or intense inner turmoil.
Show 2 more Show fewer 苦しむ implies suffering or struggling, often physically or financially, while 困る in the money sense is milder, just meaning 'to be short of funds.'
苦しむ describes the state of suffering itself, while 藻掻く describes the active, thrashing effort to escape that suffering.
Word family pain; suffering; anguish; hardship
writhe in agony; struggle painfully
be distressed with debts; suffer from debt
Etymology Derived from the adjective 苦しい (painful, difficult) with the verbalizing suffix む , indicating a state of being in pain or distress.
Report an issue with this page
Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
