苦しみ|くるしみkurushimi[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounpain; anguish; distress; suffering; hardship
   私達わたしたちは他人たにんの苦くるしみに同情どうじょうするべきだ。↗

   We should feel for the pains of others.

• Synonym苦痛くつうWrittenWritten register. Pain of body or mind, as in 「苦痛を伴う」; leans toward pain one endures, while 「苦しみ」 covers suffering more broadly.
• Synonym痛みいたみNeutralPain or heartache, as in 「胸の痛み」; leans toward the physical sensation of hurting.
• Synonym苦悩くのうWrittenWritten register. Mental anguish, as in 「苦悩の日々」; centers on inner struggle rather than suffering in general.
• Synonym悩みなやみNeutralWorries, as in 「恋の悩み」; points to concerns that call for a solution rather than suffering itself.
• Synonym煩いわずらいWrittenWritten register. Worry or illness, as in 「長患い」; leans toward sickness and its pain.
• Synonym心労しんろうWrittenWritten register. Worrying that wears you down, as in 「心労が重なる」; centers on mental fatigue.
• Synonym苦渋くじゅうWrittenWritten register. Bitterness, as in 「苦渋の決断」; often marks a wrenching, reluctant choice.
• Synonym四苦八苦しくはっくCasualColloquial. Being hard pressed, as in 「四苦八苦する」; centers on struggling to cope with something.
• Synonym辛苦しんくNeutralToil and hardship, as in 「粒々辛苦」; centers on the effort one puts in.
• Synonym苦くFormalFormal. Suffering as in 「苦楽を共にする」; mostly appears in compounds or as a Buddhist term.
• Synonym苦しさくるしさCasualColloquial. The degree of suffering, as in 「息苦しさ」; focuses on how intense the feeling is.
• Synonym苦患くげんFormalFormal. Hellish torment; carries a Buddhist flavor and is rare in modern usage.
• Synonym痛苦つうくWrittenWritten register. Pain of body and mind; rare in modern usage.
• Synonym苦衷くちゅうWrittenWritten register. Distress one finds hard to voice, as in 「苦衷を察する」; centers on a difficult situation.
• SynonymつらさCasualColloquial. How painful or bitter something feels, as in 「別れの辛さ」; centers on the emotion.
• Synonym苦悶くもんWrittenWritten register. Anguish so severe that one writhes, as in 「苦悶の表情」; it tends to be agony that shows on the outside.
• Synonym懊悩おうのうFormalFormal. Vexed anguish, as in 「懊悩する青年」; a literary word for inner struggle.
• Synonym悶えもだえWrittenWritten register. Anguish expressed in writhing, as in 「身悶え」; shows in bodily movement.
• Synonym悶もんFormalFormal. Anguish, mostly in compounds such as 「悶々」 and 「煩悶」; seldom used alone.
• Related憂き目うきめWrittenWritten register. Bitter experiences one undergoes, as in 「倒産の憂き目」; centers on the ordeal itself.
• Related不幸せふしあわせNeutralUnhappiness, as in 「不幸せな人生」; concerns one's lot in life rather than the feeling of pain.
• Related苦境くきょうNeutralA predicament, as in 「苦境に立つ」; names the difficult position one is in, not the feeling.
• Related艱苦かんくFormalFormal. Hardship, seen in written phrases like 「艱苦に耐える」; the hardship of adversity.
• Related責め苦せめくNeutralTorture, as in 「地獄の責め苦」; centers on inflicted punishment rather than suffering in general.
• Related疾苦しっくWrittenWritten register. Suffering from illness or general distress; rare in modern usage.
• Antonym喜びよろこびNeutralJoy; the antonym of 「苦しみ」 in the contrast between pleasure and pain.
• Antonym楽しみたのしみNeutralEnjoyment and pleasure; the direct opposite of 「苦しみ」.

Use 「苦しみ」 for suffering and hardship in general, as in 「生みの苦しみ」 or 「苦しみから解放」. For pain of body or mind, pick 「苦痛」 or 「痛み」; for inner struggle, 「苦悩」; for worries to be resolved, 「悩み」. 「苦しさ」 and 「辛さ」 are colloquial words for how bad it feels. Others are narrower or rarer: 「苦」 in compounds and Buddhist use, 「苦患」 for hellish torment, 「苦衷」 for unvoiced distress, 「憂き目」 for bitter experiences, 「苦境」 for a predicament, 「責め苦」 for torture, 「四苦八苦」 for being hard pressed, 「辛苦」 for toil. Opposites: 「喜び」 and 「楽しみ」.

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

1. 苦くるしむこと。