辛苦|しんくshinku[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbhardship; toil; trouble

• Synonym苦難くなんWrittenWritten/formal. Major suffering and hardship that befalls one; stresses the ordeal endured, unlike 「辛苦」, which stresses the toil.
• Synonym労苦ろうくWrittenWritten/formal. Bodily and mental weariness from laboring; close in sense to 「辛苦」.
• Synonym苦しみくるしみNeutralNeutral and common in everyday use. The feeling of physical or mental suffering itself, not the toil behind it.
• Synonym困難こんなんNeutralNeutral and common in daily life. Difficulty; stresses that a matter is hard to manage, not the strain of dealing with it.
• Synonym労作ろうさくWrittenWritten/formal. Laborious work, or a painstaking work produced by such labor; stresses the effort expended.
• Synonym労ろうWrittenWritten/formal. Labor and the effort one contributes; typically in 「労をねぎらう」, thanking someone for their work.
• Synonym難儀なんぎNeutralNeutral. Trouble and difficulty; stresses things being thorny and leaving you at a loss. In speech it has a Kansai flavor.
• Synonym困苦こんくWrittenWritten/formal but rare. A life of hardship and poverty; stresses difficult living, without the emphasis on toil.
• Synonym苦くNeutralNeutral. A one-character word, broader than 「辛苦」; often seen in 「苦にする」, and also the Buddhist term for suffering.
• Related試練しれんWrittenWritten/formal. A trial that tests one's will or resolve; carries a positive nuance.
• Related憂き目うきめWrittenWritten/formal. Bitter experiences; usually in 「憂き目を見る」, stressing misfortune rather than toil.
• Related不幸せふしあわせNeutralNeutral. Unhappiness, a life that does not go well; stresses the absence of happiness, not the strenuous effort of 「辛苦」.
• Related苦境くきょうWrittenWritten/formal. The predicament or adverse position one is in; stresses the situation, not the process of toiling through it.
• Related多難たなんWrittenWritten/formal. Beset with many troubles; typically in 「前途多難」. Stresses the sheer number of difficulties.
• Related力作りきさくWrittenWritten/formal. A work into which much effort and care has been poured; related to the toil sense but points to the work itself.
• Related荒波あらなみWrittenWritten/formal. Raging waves, used figuratively for the hardships of life and society; a vivid image.
• Related逆境ぎゃっきょうWrittenWritten/formal. Adverse circumstances; stresses the unfavorable situation one is in, unlike 「辛苦」's focus on the toiling process.
• Related困窮こんきゅうWrittenWritten/formal. Poverty and distress; stresses straitened finances, and also being at a dead end with no way out.
• Related苦杯くはいWrittenWritten/formal, usually 「苦杯を嘗める」 — tasting defeat or a bitter experience; 「辛苦」 stresses long toil instead.
• Related粒々辛苦りゅうりゅうしんくWrittenWritten/formal four-character idiom, 'every grain hard-won'; stresses long, painstaking effort.
• Related惨苦さんくWrittenWritten/formal but rare. Agonizing suffering in a wretched, unbearable plight; 「辛苦」 instead stresses the process of toil.
• Related貧苦ひんくWrittenWritten/formal but rare. Suffering caused by poverty; the hardship comes from being poor.
• Related辛労しんろうWrittenWritten/formal but rare. Same meaning as 「辛苦」 — toil and hardship — but very seldom used.
• Related悲境ひきょうWrittenWritten/formal but rare. A sad, wretched lot; stresses the miserable circumstances one is in.
• Antonym安楽あんらくWrittenAntonym, written/formal. Comfort and ease, free of care — the opposite of 「辛苦」's toil and hardship.
• Antonym幸福こうふくNeutralAntonym, neutral. Contented happiness; opposed to 「辛苦」 as hardship is to happiness, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

Choose 「辛苦」 for long, grinding toil and hardship, as in 「辛苦を重ねる」 or 「艱難辛苦」. For great suffering that befalls you, use 「苦難」; for everyday hardship, 「苦労」; for a predicament, 「苦境」. 「苦しみ」 and 「困難」 are the everyday words for suffering and difficulty; 「試練」 has a positive nuance; 「逆境」「困窮」「貧苦」 name adverse or impoverished circumstances; 「憂き目」 and 「苦杯」 are bitter experiences; 「粒々辛苦」 is an idiom for painstaking effort; 「労苦」「労」「労作」 stress labor expended; 「辛労」 is a rare synonym. 「安楽」 and 「幸福」 are antonyms.

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

1. 辛つらく苦くるしいこと。
2. 辛つらく苦くるしむ。