JapanLingo

辛いつらい

tsurai

hard / painful (emotionally)

N3

How to remember this word

Tie 辛い to one concrete moment from your own week in Japan where “hard” came up — a word anchored to a real scene sticks far better than a definition.

Example sentences

Example 1

nareru made wa shigoto ga tsurakatta desu.

Until I got used to it, the job was hard.

Example 2

tsurai toki wa, muri o shinaide yasunda hou ga ii desu.

When things are hard, it is better to rest instead of pushing yourself.