辛酸|しんさんshinsan[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounhardships; privation

• Synonym苦難くなんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Hardship and tribulation, as in 「苦難を乗り越える」; 「辛酸」stresses the bitterness one has personally tasted.
• Synonym艱苦かんくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Hardship and privation; used rarely and close in sense to 「辛酸」.
• Related苦しみくるしみNeutralThe most general word for suffering. 「辛酸」is largely confined to the set phrase 「辛酸をなめる」.
• Related苦悩くのうWrittenWritten/formal prose. Mental anguish, as in 「苦悩の表情」; stresses inner torment and worry.
• Related苦痛くつうNeutralNeutral. Pain of body and mind, as in 「苦痛を感じる」; stresses the felt sensation of pain.
• Related四苦八苦しくはっくNeutralNeutral. Originally a Buddhist term; in everyday use it means being hard pressed or at one's wits' end, not hardships tasted over time.
• Related青息吐息あおいきといきNeutralNeutral. Being so beleaguered one can only sigh; often said of struggling businesses, describing a plight rather than tasted hardship.
• Related苦衷くちゅうWrittenWritten/formal prose. Inner distress that is hard to voice, as in 「苦衷を察する」; centers on one's inner feelings rather than outward hardship.
• Related疾苦しっくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Sickness and hardship taken together, as in the phrase 「民の疾苦」 (the people's sufferings).
• Related苦くNeutralNeutral. Suffering appearing mostly in set phrases like 「苦にする」「苦もなく」; seldom stands alone.
• RelatedつらさNeutralColloquial. How painful or hard something feels, i.e. its degree; more colloquial than the written-flavored 「辛酸」.
• Related苦患くげんWrittenWritten/formal prose. A Buddhist term for hellish torment; used very rarely.

For suffering in general say 「苦しみ」. 「辛酸」is mostly for hardships personally tasted, as in 「辛酸をなめる」. Use 「苦難」for tribulation, 「苦悩」for inner anguish, 「苦痛」for felt pain, 「苦衷」for unspoken distress, 「四苦八苦」for being hard pressed, 「青息吐息」for dire straits, 「疾苦」for the people's sufferings, 「苦」in set phrases, and 「辛さ」colloquially; 「艱苦」and 「苦患」are rare.

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

1. 辛つらい苦くるしみ。また、そのような経験けいけん。