苦境・苦況|くきょうkukyou[0]heiban (flat)

1. noundifficult situation; adverse circumstances; predicament; trouble; dilemma; distress
   苦境くきょうにあるとき助たすけになるものだ。↗

   It helps us in times of difficulty.

• Synonym窮地きゅうちWrittenWritten/formal prose; a desperate impasse where options have run out, as in 「窮地に陥る」. 「苦境」 covers difficult circumstances more broadly.
• Synonym困難こんなんNeutralNeutral and the most widely used word for difficulty; 「苦境」 points to the difficult position one is in rather than difficulty itself.
• Synonym難局なんきょくWrittenWritten/formal prose; a difficult situation that must be dealt with, as in 「難局を乗り切る」. 「苦境」 stresses the position one is in.
• Synonym逆境ぎゃっきょうNeutralNeutral; adverse circumstances, stressing that conditions are unfavorable. 「苦境」 focuses on the hardship of the position itself.
• Synonym窮状きゅうじょうWrittenWritten/formal prose; a wretched, distressed state of affairs, as in 「窮状を訴える」. 「苦境」 is the broader word for a hard position.
• Synonym窮境きゅうきょうWrittenWritten/formal prose; a plight of poverty and distress. 「苦境」 is the more common word.
• RelatedジレンマNeutralA loanword for a dilemma, caught between two choices; 「苦境」 is a general difficult situation.
• Related憂き目うきめWrittenWritten/formal prose; bitter, painful experiences, usually as 「憂き目に遭う」. 「苦境」 refers to the situation rather than the suffering itself.
• Related困窮こんきゅうWrittenWritten/formal prose; poverty and hardship in life, or being at a loss for a solution. 「苦境」 is the broader term.
• Related苦難くなんNeutralNeutral; suffering and hardship endured, trials one goes through. 「苦境」 points to the difficult position itself.
• Related板挟みいたばさみCasualColloquial; being squeezed between two sides and unable to please either. 「苦境」 is a general difficult situation.
• Related困苦こんくWrittenWritten/formal prose; hardship and privation, as in set phrases like 「艱難困苦」. 「苦境」 centers on the situation one is in.
• Related難儀なんぎCasualColloquial; hardship and suffering, or a troublesome task or person. 「苦境」 refers to the difficult position itself.
• Related悲境ひきょうWrittenWritten/formal prose; sad, wretched circumstances. 「苦境」 is the more common word.
• Related御難ごなんWrittenWritten/formal prose; a polite way of saying 「災難」 or 「困難」, sometimes with a teasing nuance. 「苦境」 is neutral in tone.
• Antonym順境じゅんきょうWrittenWritten/formal prose; favorable, smooth-going circumstances — the direct antonym of 「苦境」.

Use 「苦境」 for a difficult situation or predicament, as in 「苦境に立たされる」. For a desperate impasse with no way out, choose 「窮地」; for being torn between two options, 「ジレンマ」 or colloquial 「板挟み」; for a situation that must be handled, 「難局」; for adverse circumstances, 「逆境」. The opposite is 「順境」. The remaining words are mostly written/formal terms for particular shades of hardship.

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

1. 困難こんなんな立場たちば・境遇きょうぐう。