苦痛
Meaning in Englishpain, suffering, agony
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
苦痛 means pain or distress; it refers to physical or emotional suffering experienced by a person, and is used in medical, psychological, and literary contexts to describe intense discomfort or hardship.
Main meanings
- Physical pain from injury or illness
- Emotional or psychological suffering or distress
- Extreme discomfort or hardship in challenging situations
- Figurative or literary use to denote existential or moral anguish
How to use it
Used as a noun to denote pain or suffering, with a formal register in medical and academic writing and broader use in journalism and literature; commonly paired with verbs and particles such as を感じる and に耐える; examples include 苦痛を感じる and 苦痛に耐える.
Variants and close terms
- 痛み itami – pain, common everyday term
- 苦悶 kumon – agony, intense distress, more literary
- 苦痛 (kutsū) – formal/clinical usage
Composition
- 苦 = hardship, bitterness
- 痛 = pain, ache
- 苦痛 = combined sense of pain or distress arising from hardship
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: the term is a Sino-Japanese compound formed from 苦 and 痛, with the standard pronunciation くつう (kutsū) consolidated in modern Japanese; the readings have stabilized in compound use.
Origin
First attested in Heian-period classical texts, the word gained prominence in medical and literary contexts through Edo-period writings and continues in modern discourse.
Word class
noun (名詞)