いたましい

i-adjective

pitiful; tragic; heart-rending

formalliterarywrittendescriptive

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	いたましい	いたましくない
Past	いたましかった	いたましくなかった
て form	いたましくて	いたましくなくて
Adverbial	いたましく	—
Conditional ば	いたましければ	いたましくなければ
Conditional たら	いたましかったら	いたましくなかったら

1. pitiful; tragic; heart-rending

Describes something so sad or unfortunate that it causes pain in the heart of the observer. Often used for tragic events or pitiable situations.

いたましい事故(じこ)だった。

It was a tragic accident.

彼(かれ)の姿(すがた)は見(み)ていていたましかった。

It was heart-rending to see him in that state.

いたましい結末(けつまつ)を迎(むか)えた。

It came to a tragic end.

Writing

Can be written as 痛(いた)ましい. The kanji 痛(いた)い (painful) reflects the sense of emotional pain caused by witnessing tragedy.

Forms

いたましく (adverb) - pitifully, tragically
いたましさ (noun) - pitifulness, pathos

Usage

いたましい describes situations that cause emotional pain to the observer. It implies sympathy and sorrow, often used in news reports and formal contexts for tragic events.

Common collocations

いたましい事故(じこ) (tragic accident)
いたましい事件(じけん) (tragic incident)
いたましい最期(さいご) (tragic death)
いたましい姿(すがた) (pitiful sight)

Register

Neutral to formal. Common in news and written language.

Similar words

悲(かな)しい - sad (general sadness)
哀(あわ)れ - pitiful/pathetic (literary)
気(き)の毒(どく) - pitiful/unfortunate (focuses on sympathy)
痛(いた)ましい限(かぎ)り - extremely tragic (emphatic)

Related Words

Synonym: 悲(かな)しい (sad (general))

Synonym: 気(き)の毒(どく) (pitiful, unfortunate)

Compare: 哀(あわ)れ (pitiful/pathetic)

general

Added 2026.1.19 15:00 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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