How to say "trying" in Japanese

• 切ないせつないJLPT N1approx.Common
  i-adjectiveCovers 'trying' as an adjective: a situation or time that is emotionally painful and hard to bear, as in 'a trying time.' The nuance is heartrending inner distress rather than mere difficulty.
• 試食ししょくCommon
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbOnly the food sense: it means sampling or tasting food, trying a food by eating a little of it, as when tasting a sample. It is never the word for 'trying' meaning difficult or distressing.
  デパートの試食ししょくコーナーへ行いくと、いろいろな物ものがただで食たべられるよ。↗

  You can get all kinds of things to eat if you go to the free samples area in a department store.

For 'trying' meaning emotionally painful and hard to bear, use 「切ない」; 試食 belongs only to the tasting sense, trying food by sampling it, and never describes difficult situations.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 切ないせつないpainful
• 試食ししょくsampling food
• 始末が悪いしまつがわるいhard to deal with