痛い・甚い|いたいitai[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

JLPT N5approx.Common
Which spelling to use
痛い痛い(いたい) is the most common form and the recommended default for learners, expressing something painful or sore as well as something cringy or embarrassing.
甚い甚い(いたい) is a rarely used kanji-and-kana variant. You may encounter it, but 痛い(いたい) is the practical choice for writing and learning.
Definitions
  1. i-adjectivepainful; sore
    噛かむと痛いたいですか。↗
    Does it hurt when you chew?
  2. i-adjectivecringy; embarrassing
Conjugation
Plain form痛い(いたい)
Polite (desu)痛いです(いたいです)
Negative (kunai)痛くない(いたくない)
polite (ku arimasen)痛くありません(いたくありません)
Past (katta)痛かった(いたかった)
Past negative (kunakatta)痛くなかった(いたくなかった)
Te form (kute)痛くて(いたくて)
Adverbial (ku)痛く(いたく)
Conditional (kereba)痛ければ(いたければ)
kattara痛かったら(いたかったら)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Related苦しいくるしいNeutralRefers to struggling to breathe, mental or physical suffering, or hardship; it emphasizes the anguish of enduring, while 「痛い」 usually means pain in a body part.
  • Related切ないせつないNeutralDescribes heartache or sorrow that grips the heart, as in 「切ない恋」; the pain is emotional, whereas 「痛い」 usually refers to physical pain.
  • Related不快ふかいWrittenWritten/formal prose for a vague sense of displeasure or feeling unwell; for actual pain or a painful loss, use 「痛い」.
  • Related不愉快ふゆかいNeutralRefers to feeling displeased or put out — purely emotional, with no link to pain; 「痛い」 usually describes physical pain.

「痛い」 is the default word for pain; it also covers painful losses and cringy, embarrassing moments. Use 「苦しい」 for anguish or hardship, 「切ない」 for heartache, and 「不愉快」 for emotional displeasure.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. 疼痛とうつうを感かんじる。
  2. (わたし・あなたが/体たいの一部いちぶが)体たいの不調ふちょうや傷きずによって疼痛とうつうを感かんじる。
  3. (体からだの不調ふちょうや外傷がいしょうの原因げんいんが)疼痛とうつうの原因げんいんとなっている。
  4. 精神せいしん、心こころが痛いたい。比喩的ひゆてきに苦痛くつうを感かんじる。厳きびしい。苦くるしい。
  5. 冗談じょうだんが上手うまくいかなかったり、場違ばちがいな言動げんどうなどにより、見苦みぐるしい。みっともない。いたいたしい。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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