Japanese Grammar: Mastering ~づらい (Hard to Do)

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Japanese Grammar: Mastering ~づらい (Hard to Do)
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

‘Difficult to do’ or ‘hard to do.’

🎯 Primary Function

To express subjective difficulty, discomfort, or psychological resistance when performing an action.

📋 Grammar Structure

Verb (ます-stem) + づらい
Verb (ます-stem) + づらい (conjugates as an i-adjective)
Not applicable (acts as an i-adjective)
Verb (ます-stem) + づらくない

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Used in polite speech by adding ‘desu’ (づらいです). Common in business contexts when expressing gentle refusal or difficulty.

😊 Informal Situations

Very common in daily conversation with friends and family to express personal struggle or discomfort.

✍️ Written Language

Used in personal writing, reviews, and literature to describe character feelings or physical states.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Frequently used to explain why an action isn’t being performed smoothly.

💡 Common Applications

Physical discomfort
Used when something causes physical strain or discomfort while performing an action.
Example: この椅子は座りづらい。 (This chair is hard/uncomfortable to sit in.)
Psychological hesitation
Used when one feels emotional resistance, guilt, or awkwardness in doing something.
Example: 本当のことが言いづらい。 (It’s hard to tell the truth.)
Environmental factors
Used when external conditions make an action difficult to perform smoothly.
Example: 暗くて歩きづらい。 (It’s dark and hard to walk.)
📊
Frequency
High
🎚️
Difficulty
N4 (Intermediate)
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
この靴は少し歩きづらいです。
Furigana: このくつはすこしあるきづらいです。
Romaji: Kono kutsu wa sukoshi arukizurai desu.
English: These shoes are a bit hard to walk in.
Example #2
あの人は少し話しかけづらいです。
Furigana: あのひとはすこしはなしかけづらいです。
Romaji: Ano hito wa sukoshi hanashikakezurai desu.
English: That person is a bit difficult to approach (hard to talk to).
Example #3
このペンは書きづらいです。
Furigana: このペンはかきづらいです。
Romaji: Kono pen wa kakizurai desu.
English: This pen is scratchy and hard to write with.
Example #4
喉が痛いので、食べ物が飲み込みづらいです。
Furigana: のどがいたいので、たべものがのみこみづらいです。
Romaji: Nodo ga itai node, tabemono ga nomikomizurai desu.
English: I have a sore throat, so it’s hard to swallow food.
Example #5
それは相談しづらい内容です。
Furigana: それはそうだんしづらいないようです。
Romaji: Sore wa soudanshizurai naiyou desu.
English: It’s a psychological topic that is hard to consult about.
Example #6
字が小さすぎて、読みづらいです。
Furigana: じがちいさすぎて、よみづらいです。
Romaji: Ji ga chiisasugite, yomizurai desu.
English: The font is too small and hard to read.
Example #7
上司なので、誘いを断りづらかったです。
Furigana: じょうしなので、さそいをことわりづらかったです。
Romaji: Joushi na node, sasoi o kotowarizurakatta desu.
English: Since he is my boss, it was hard to refuse the invitation.
Example #8
このスマホは大きすぎて、片手で使いづらいです。
Furigana: このスマホはおおきすぎて、かたてでつかいづらいです。
Romaji: Kono sumaho wa ookisugite, katate de tsukaizurai desu.
English: This smartphone is too big and hard to use with one hand.
Example #9
言いたいことが言いづらい雰囲気でした。
Furigana: いいたいことがいいづらいふんいきでした。
Romaji: Iitai koto ga iizurai fun’iki deshita.
English: The atmosphere was such that it was hard to say what I wanted to say.
Example #10
店が混んでいて、入りづらかったです。
Furigana: みせがこんでいて、はいりづらかったです。
Romaji: Mise ga konde ite, hairizurakatta desu.
English: The shop was so crowded it was hard to enter.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Subjective vs Objective Difficulty
‘Dzurai’ focuses more on the internal (psychological/physical) pain or effort of the speaker.
Example: 言いづらい (Hard to say because of feelings) vs 言いにくい (Hard to say because of tongue-twisters).
The ‘Tsurai’ (Painful) Connection
‘Dzurai’ often implies a sense of ‘it’s painful/bitter to do.’
Example: 見づらい (Hard to see due to bad eyes) vs 見にくい (Hard to see due to bad light).

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ 歩くづらい。
✅ 歩きづらい。
‘Dzurai’ attaches to the verb stem (ます-form), not the plain form.
❌ この本は内容が難しくて読みづらい。 (unless referring to eye pain)
✅ 読みにくい本。
‘Dzurai’ is used for subjective/psychological difficulty. For an objectively difficult book (complex kanji), ‘nikui’ is better. ‘Dzurai’ implies eye strain or emotional pain.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Neutral to Polite. It is a soft way to express that something is difficult without being overly blunt.
Social Situations: Often used to ‘soften’ a refusal. Saying ‘I can’t do it’ is blunt, while ‘It’s hard for me to do (づらい)’ sounds more apologetic.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese. The ‘dzu’ (づ) sound is specific to the ‘tsu’ (つ) family in the Rendaku process.

🔍 Subtle Differences

~づらい vs ~にくい
~づらい is more subjective and emotional; ~にくい is more objective and mechanical.
When to use: Use ~づらい when you feel personal discomfort. Use ~にくい when the difficulty is a property of the object itself.
~づらい vs ~がたい
~がたい is much more formal and expresses ‘impossible to do’ (psychologically), whereas ~づらい is just ‘difficult.’
When to use: Use ~がたい in formal writing or for strong moral impossibility.

📝 Conjugation Notes

Because ~づらい ends in ~い, it conjugates exactly like an i-adjective: づらくない (negative), づらかった (past), づらければ (conditional).

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

The ‘dzu’ (づ) is pronounced like ‘zu’ in most modern dialects, but it is written as づ because it is a voiced version of つ.

🧠 Memory Tips

Remember that ‘dzurai’ comes from the word ‘tsurai’ (辛い), which means painful or bitter. So, ‘verb + dzurai’ literally means that doing that verb is ‘painful’ or ‘bittersweet.’

Other Grammar

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