気の毒|きのどくkinodoku[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. na-adjective, nounpitiful; unfortunate; poor; miserable; wretched
   私わたしたちはその老夫婦ろうふうふを気の毒きのどくに思おもった。↗

   We were sorry for the old couple.
2. na-adjective, noununpardonable; regrettable

• SynonymかわいそうNeutralColloquial and more direct than 「気の毒」: pitiable in a way that makes you want to help, as in 「可哀想な子」. Often said of the weak or animals.
• Synonym哀れあわれNeutralPitiable with a melancholic, poignant air, as in 「哀れな姿」; a bystander's lamenting pity, more literary than 「気の毒」.
• Synonym惨めみじめNeutralWretched and miserable, as in 「惨めな思い」; mostly described from the sufferer's own point of view, with a sense of humiliation.
• Synonym痛々しいいたいたしいNeutralPainful to look at, as in 「痛々しい姿」; focuses on visible wretchedness and hits harder than 「気の毒」.
• Synonym情けないなさけないNeutralMeans hopeless or disgraceful, as in 「情けない自分」; carries disappointment or self-reproach, not sympathy for another's misfortune.
• Synonym痛ましいいたましいNeutralHeartbreaking or tragic, typically for accidents and incidents, as in 「痛ましい事件」.
• Synonym不憫ふびんNeutralPitiable, typically said of children or juniors, as in 「不憫でならない」. Carries an elder's tender pity rather than 「気の毒」's general sympathy.
• Synonymお気の毒おきのどくFormalThe polite form of 「気の毒」, used to express sympathy formally for what someone has gone through, as in 「お気の毒でした」.
• Related残念ざんねんNeutralPuts the weight on the speaker's own feeling of regret or disappointment, as in 「残念な結果」; 「気の毒」 is sympathy for someone else's misfortune.
• Related申し訳ないもうしわけないFormalA formal apology word meaning sorry or inexcusable, as in 「申し訳ないことをした」; matches 「気の毒」 in its sense of feeling bad for causing trouble.
• Related涙ぐましいなみだぐましいNeutralDescribes touching, tear-worthy effort, as in 「涙ぐましい努力」; carries approval, not the plain sympathy of 「気の毒」.
• Related浅ましいあさましいNeutralMeans shameful, mean, or wretched, as in 「浅ましい考え」; often tinged with contempt, unlike 「気の毒」, which arises from sympathy.
• Antonym幸せしあわせNeutralAntonym: happiness and good fortune, the opposite of the misfortune that makes one feel 「気の毒」.

Use 「気の毒」 for sympathy at someone's misfortune, 「お気の毒」 when being polite. Say 「可哀想」 colloquially, 「不憫」 of children or juniors, 「残念」 for your own regret, 「申し訳ない」 for causing trouble, 「痛ましい」 for tragic accidents.

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

1. 他人たにんの苦痛くつうや不幸ふこうを見聞みききして心こころを痛いためること。
2. （サ変さへん）迷惑めいわくをかけてすまなく思おもうこと。