Common word› JLPT N3 › Freq. Frequency Top 2,000 Conjugation つらい · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary つらい つらくない Polite つらいです つらくないです also つらくありません Past polite つらかったです つらくなかったです also つらくありませんでした Past つらかった つらくなかった Te-form つらくて つらくなくて Adverbial つらく Conditional つらければ つらくなければ Tara conditional つらかったら つらくなかったら
Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 が 辛つら い to find something (an experience, situation) emotionally painful
Being alone is painful for me.
辛つら い 思おも いをする to go through a painful/hard experience
As a child, I had a painful experience being bullied.
〈 人ひと 〉 に 辛つら い to be harsh or cruel toward someone
He is harsh on his subordinates.
Expressions 辛つら い 目め に 遭あ う have a hard time; go through a painful experience Related words· 8 苦しい stresses physical or mental suffering and struggle, while 辛い focuses on emotional pain that is hard to bear.
切ない describes a bittersweet, heart-tugging sadness (often romantic), while 辛い covers a broader range of emotionally painful experiences.
大変 objectively describes a difficult or serious situation, while 辛い expresses the subjective feeling of hardship.
厳しい describes harsh, strict conditions or people, while 辛い emphasizes how hard something is to endure.
Show 4 more Show fewer 痛い is used for sharp, localized pain, whereas 辛い describes emotional or mental distress and hard-to-bear situations.
辛い describes something painful or hard to endure, while 悲しい is specifically the emotion of sadness.
辛い stresses the emotional or physical suffering someone endures, while きつい focuses on how demanding or strenuous the situation itself is.
つらい emphasizes emotional pain or hardship endured, while しんどい is more about the sheer effort or exhaustion something demands.
Opposites 楽しい means fun or enjoyable, the emotional opposite of 辛い 's painful or heartbreaking feeling.
楽 describes an easy, comfortable situation, opposite of the demanding or tough sense of 辛い .
Don't confuse with 辛い read からい means 'spicy' or 'salty', while the same kanji read つらい means 'painful' or 'hard to bear'—only context and reading tell them apart.
辛い (づらい ) is a suffix meaning 'hard to do' attached to a verb stem, while 辛い (つらい ) is a standalone adjective meaning 'painful' or 'hard to bear', even though both are written with the same kanji.
Word family pent-up resentment; grudges and hard feelings
harshly; bitterly; cruelly; badly
painfulness; bitterness; hardship
hard to do; difficult; tricky
difficult to say; hard to bring up
Written forms つらい Usage 38%
Usually written in kana; the kanji spelling 辛い is also common but can be confused with からい (spicy).
辛つら い Usage 60%
Common kanji spelling, but note the homograph 辛い (からい ) meaning 'spicy'.
ツライ Usage 2%
search-only kana form
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.
ツラい Usage 1%
search-only kana form
Mixed katakana-hiragana spelling, occasionally seen in casual writing.
Etymology Derived from classical Japanese つらし (tsurashi), with the same meanings. The kanji 辛 is used for its meaning of 'bitter' or 'painful', but the word itself is native Japanese.
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