きつい

What it means

What does きつい mean? It denotes something that is tough or intense, signaling high effort, severity, or a strong sensory impact, and it can describe tasks, environments, people, or experiences as demanding or formidable.

Main meanings

• harsh, strict in tone or rules
• physically or mentally demanding or difficult
• tight or constricting in fit or space
• strong in flavor or odor
• exhausting or punishing due to workload or circumstances

How to use it

Used as an i-adjective in casual to semi-formal contexts to describe toughness, difficulty, or intensity. It can modify nouns directly (きつい練習, きつい仕事) or describe conditions and sensory input (においがきつい, 味がきつい). The polite form is きついです and the adverbial form is きつく感じる.