How to Say ‘That is hard; that is painful’ in Japanese
つらいね
tsurai ne
[tsoo-rah-ee neh]
💬 Usage Tip: [つらい] means emotionally or physically painful, tough, or hard. Adding [ね] makes it warmer and more empathetic.
🇯🇵 In Japan: [ね] is tiny but powerful. It invites shared feeling, like saying, “Yeah, that’s really hard, isn’t it?”
Phrase Breakdown
つらい
tsurai
[tsoo-rah-ee]
painful; tough; heartbreaking
Used for emotional or physical difficulty; here it shows sympathy.
それは本当につらいね。
That's really tough.
ね
ne
[neh]
isn't it; right
Sentence-ending particle adding warmth, agreement, or empathy.
大変だったね。
That was hard, wasn't it.
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