お手数|おてすうotesuu[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nountrouble; bother
   お手数てすうかけてどうもすいません。↗

   I'm sorry to bother you.

• Synonym面倒めんどうNeutralEveryday word for something bothersome, common in speech, as in 「面倒をかける」; unlike 「お手数」 it is not tied to polite set phrases.
• Synonym厄介やっかいNeutralPoints to something thorny and hard to deal with, as in 「厄介な問題」; it can also mean living under someone's care, a sense 「お手数」 lacks.
• Synonym手数てすうNeutralThe bare form without the honorific 「お」; it also means the number of moves in go or shogi or punches thrown, and on its own it is fairly neutral.
• Related煩雑はんざつNeutralDescribes procedures that are complicated and cumbersome, as in 「煩雑な手続き」; it stresses the many steps involved and never appears in polite set phrases.
• Related迷惑めいわくNeutralFocuses on the annoyance or inconvenience you cause others, as in 「迷惑をかける」; it stresses the other person's displeasure, not polite courtesy.
• Relatedご苦労ごくろうNeutralRefers to someone's hard work; 「ご苦労さま」 thanks a subordinate for their efforts, quite different from the polite phrasing used when asking a favor.
• Relatedご迷惑ごめいわくFormalHonorific for the trouble you cause someone, as in 「ご迷惑をおかけしました」; it is mostly used in apologies.
• Related厄介事やっかいごとNeutralNames the troublesome matter itself, as in 「厄介事に巻き込まれる」; it points to the incident, not to the burden placed on someone.
• Antonym手間いらずNeutralMeans requiring no effort or trouble, the opposite of 「お手数」, which acknowledges the burden placed on another person.

Use 「お手数」 to preface a request politely: 「お手数ですが」, 「お手数をおかけします」. To apologize, say 「ご迷惑をおかけしました」; for everyday trouble, 「面倒」 is the natural choice. 「厄介」, 「煩雑」 and 「厄介事」 describe difficult or cumbersome matters, 「迷惑」 the annoyance you cause, 「ご苦労」 someone's hard work; 「手間いらず」 means just the opposite.

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

1. 相手あいてに負担ふたんをかけてしまうこと。また、その負担ふたんそのもの。