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心苦しい (こころぐるしい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
i-adjective
painful ; feeling sorry ; regretful
Expresses a sense of emotional discomfort or guilt when one's actions or circumstances cause trouble or inconvenience to others. Often used in formal or polite apologies.
かの
女じょ
に
本ほん
当とう
の
こと
を
言い
え
ず
、
心こころ
苦ぐる
しかっ
た
。
I felt painful not being able to tell her the truth.
Similar words 申もう し 訳わけ ない More direct and common in everyday apologies. 心苦しい is more introspective and formal, focusing on the speaker's inner discomfort rather than the apology itself.
気き の 毒どく Used to express sympathy for someone else's misfortune. 心苦しい is about one's own feeling of guilt or regret.
Etymology Compound of 心 (こころ, 'heart, mind') and 苦しい (くるしい, 'painful, distressing'). The reading ぐるしい is a rendaku form of くるしい.
