四苦八苦|しくはっくshikuhakku[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbbeing in dire distress; being hard put to it; being hard pressed (for money)
   ホームページ作つくりに四苦八苦しくはっくしてるようだけど、手伝てつだってあげようか。↗

   You look like you're having a lot of trouble setting up that web page. Want some help?
2. noun, Buddhismthe four and eight kinds of suffering (birth, old age, disease, death, parting from loved ones, meeting disliked ones, not getting what one seeks, pains of the five skandha)

• Synonym苦しみくるしみNeutralThe most general word for suffering or pain; 「四苦八苦」 describes struggling desperately to cope with something rather than suffering itself.
• Synonym苦悩くのうWrittenWritten/formal word for deep mental anguish; it points to inner torment and does not describe frantically coping with a situation.
• Related苦痛くつうNeutralPain or agony felt in body or mind; the emphasis is on the suffering itself, while 「四苦八苦」 stresses the struggle to manage something.
• Related悩みなやみNeutralEveryday word for worries and things that weigh on the mind, as in 「悩みを相談する」; it is about inner concerns, not being hard pressed.
• Related苦労くろうNeutralToil and hardship, with the focus on the effort put in, as in 「苦労を重ねる」; 「四苦八苦」 more vividly paints someone frantically struggling to cope.
• Related辛酸しんさんWrittenWritten word for bitter hardships, typically in 「辛酸をなめる」 (to taste hardship); it describes suffering endured over time.
• Related困難こんなんNeutralRefers to objective difficulty, something hard to achieve or carry out; 「四苦八苦」 focuses on the person struggling, not the task's difficulty.
• Related艱苦かんくWrittenWritten word for prolonged hardship and privation, as in 「艱苦に耐える」; it suggests enduring long-term adversity rather than a desperate scramble.
• Related苦くWrittenWritten word for suffering, used mostly as a component in set phrases such as 「苦あれば楽あり」 rather than on its own.
• RelatedつらさNeutralColloquial word for how hard or painful something feels, as in 「別れの辛さ」; it names the feeling itself, not the struggle to cope.
• Antonym安楽あんらくWrittenWritten word for comfort and ease, the direct opposite of being hard pressed and suffering.
• Antonym平穏へいおんWrittenWritten word for calm and tranquility, a state where nothing goes wrong; the opposite of 「四苦八苦」.

For toil and hardship in general, use 「苦労」. For being hard pressed and struggling desperately with something, use 「四苦八苦」, as in 「資金繰りに四苦八苦する」; it originally named the Buddhist eight sufferings. For hardships endured over time, say 「辛酸をなめる」.

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

1. 生なま、老おい、病やまい、死しの四よんつの苦くるしみと、怨憎おんぞう会苦えく、愛別離苦あいべつりく、求きゅう不得ふとく苦く、五蘊盛苦ごうんじょうく（もしくは五陰盛苦ごおんじょうく）を加くわえた、計けい八ようつの苦くるしみのこと。[13世紀せいき～]
2. (転てんじて) 大変たいへんに苦労くろうすること。[1703年ねん～]
3. 大変たいへんに苦労くろうする。