# 苦しい
## Japanese
### Etymology

* Kanji in this term
* 苦
* くる Grade: 3
* kun'yomi
From Old Japanese. First cited to the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE, and likely extant earlier as the intransitive verb 苦しむ (kurushimu, “to suffer, to be stressed out”) was first cited to the Kojiki of 712 CE.
Analyzable as a compound of bound morpheme ⟨kuru-⟩ (indicates stress or temper) +‎ ⟨-si⟩ (adjectivizing suffix, gives object the possession of the adjective's quality), ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kuru. Compare 狂う (kuruu, “to be mad, to get angry”). Compare also Miyako 苦 (guri) against Miyako 悲す (kanasu, Japanese 悲しい (kanashii, “sad”)).
The modern form kurushii is derived from the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of Early Middle Japanese adjective 苦し (kurushi), with the medial /-k-/ falling out.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) くるしい [kùrúshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [kɯ̟ɾɯ̟ɕii]
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「苦しい」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | 苦しく | くるしく くるしく | [kùrúꜜshìkù] [kùrúshíꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | 苦しい | くるしい | [kùrúshíꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | 苦しい | くるしい | [kùrúshíꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 苦しくない | くるしくない くるしくない | [kùrúꜜshìkùnàì] [kùrúshíꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | 苦しかった | くるしかった くるしかった | [kùrúꜜshìkàttà] [kùrúshíꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | 苦しくなかった | くるしくなかった くるしくなかった | [kùrúꜜshìkùnàkàttà] [kùrúshíꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | 苦しいです | くるしいです | [kùrúshíꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | 苦しくて | くるしくて くるしくて | [kùrúꜜshìkùtè] [kùrúshíꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | 苦しければ | くるしければ くるしければ | [kùrúꜜshìkèrèbà] [kùrúshíꜜkèrèbà] |

### Adjective

苦(くる)しい • (kurushii) -i (adverbial 苦(くる)しく (kurushiku))
* physically painful, agonizing
** 1999 October 15, Rumiko Takahashi, “地(じ)念(ねん)児(じ) [Jinenji]”, in [犬](いぬ)[夜](や)[叉](しゃ) [Inuyasha], volume 12 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 62:
    雲母(きらら)…苦(くる)しいの？
       Kirara… Kurushii no?
       Kirara… Does it still hurt?
* difficult, strenuous, mentally trying
* mentally agonizing
    会(あ)えないなんて苦(くる)しいよ
       aenai nante kurushii yo
       Being unable to be by your side is painful.
* tight (budget etc.), straitened
* forced

#### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 苦しかろ | くるしかろ | kurushikaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 苦しく | くるしく | kurushiku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 苦しい | くるしい | kurushii |
| Attributive (連体形) | 苦しい | くるしい | kurushii |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 苦しけれ | くるしけれ | kurushikere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 苦しかれ | くるしかれ | kurushikare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 苦しくない | くるしくない | kurushiku nai |
| Informal past | 苦しかった | くるしかった | kurushikatta |
| Informal negative past | 苦しくなかった | くるしくなかった | kurushiku nakatta |
| Formal | 苦しいです | くるしいです | kurushii desu |
| Formal negative | 苦しくないです | くるしくないです | kurushiku nai desu |
| Formal past | 苦しかったです | くるしかったです | kurushikatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 苦しくなかったです | くるしくなかったです | kurushiku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 苦しくて | くるしくて | kurushikute |
| Conditional | 苦しければ | くるしければ | kurushikereba |
| Provisional | 苦しかったら | くるしかったら | kurushikattara |
| Volitional | 苦しかろう | くるしかろう | kurushikarō |
| Adverbial | 苦しく | くるしく | kurushiku |
| Degree | 苦しさ | くるしさ | kurushisa |

### References

* 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
* 1 2 “苦”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ Samuel E. Martin (1987) The Japanese Language Through Time, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 833