試練・試煉・試錬|しれんshiren[1]atamadaka (head-high)
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
Which spelling to use
試練試練 is the most common written form of this word and the form beginners are advised to use when writing it.
試煉試煉 is a kanji-only variant that is rarely used. You will seldom encounter it, so learners should normally write 試練 instead.
試錬試錬 is a kanji-only variant that is rarely used. You will seldom encounter it, so learners should normally write 試練 instead.
Definitions
- nountest; trial; ordeal; tribulation
Synonyms & antonyms
- Related苦難くなんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Suffering and hardship in general; 「試練」 leans toward a trial that tests one's faith or resolve.
- Related辛苦しんくNeutralNeutral. Toil and hardship, as in 「粒粒辛苦」; 「試練」 carries the added sense of a meaningful test.
- Related多難たなんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Beset by many troubles, as in 「前途多難」; 「試練」 stresses the testing of one's will.
- Related荒波あらなみWrittenWritten/formal prose. Raging waves, a metaphor for the hardships of the world; 「試練」 frames hardship as a test.
- Related苦杯くはいWrittenWritten/formal prose. A bitter experience, especially defeat, as in 「苦杯をなめる」; 「試練」 is a test, not a defeat.
- Related労苦ろうくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Toil and labor; 「試練」 emphasizes a trial of the will.
- Related難儀なんぎCasualColloquial. Suffering and troublesome matters; 「試練」 suggests the trials of life.
- Related惨苦さんくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Agonizing, terrible pain; 「試練」 centers on the idea of a test.
- Related責め苦せめくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Hellish torment, physical or mental; 「試練」 is a test rather than inflicted suffering.
- Related苦くNeutralNeutral. A one-character word for pain and anguish, as in 「苦にする」; common in daily use, while 「試練」 is a test of will.
- Related苦患くげんWrittenWritten/formal prose. A Buddhist term for the torments of hell; 「試練」 refers to trials in one's life.
- Antonym安楽あんらくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Comfort and ease — the opposite of the hardship and testing of 「試練」.
- Antonym安逸あんいつWrittenWritten/formal prose. Idle ease and pleasure; stands in direct contrast to 「試練」.
Use 「試練」 for a hardship that tests faith or resolve, as in 「試練を乗り越える」. For suffering or hardship in general pick 「苦難」; for toil 「辛苦」 or 「労苦」; for being beset by troubles 「多難」; colloquially for troubles 「難儀」; for pain in everyday speech 「苦」. 「安楽」 and 「安逸」 are its opposites.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
