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How to Say ‘To be in trouble / to be a problem’ in Japanese

困る

komaru

[komaru]

💬 Usage Tip: [困る] is “to be troubled / to be inconvenient.” Useful phrase: [困っています] = “I’m having trouble.”

🇯🇵 In Japan: People may say [困るね] to show empathy and acknowledge the inconvenience—nice social “I hear you.”

Phrase Breakdown

困る

komaru

[komaru]

to be in trouble; to be困る; to be困る困る

困る is used when a situation causes trouble or困る (you don’t know what to do). Common when reporting a problem to a landlord, e.g., no hot water.

Example

お湯が出ないと困るので、大家さんに連絡します。

If hot water doesn’t come out, I’m in trouble, so I’ll contact the landlord.

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