痛々しい
いたいたしい
adjective (i-adjective)
pitiful; painful to see; pathetic
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 痛々しい | 痛々しくない |
| Past | 痛々しかった | 痛々しくなかった |
| て form | 痛々しくて | 痛々しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 痛々しく | — |
| Conditional ば | 痛々しければ | 痛々しくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 痛々しかったら | 痛々しくなかったら |
1.
pitiful; painful to see; pathetic
describes something so sad or embarrassing that it's hard to watch; evokes sympathy or secondhand discomfort
彼の姿が痛々しい。
He looks pitiful.
必死に言い訳する様子が痛々しかった。
Watching them desperately make excuses was painful.
怪我だらけの体が痛々しい。
It's painful to see their body covered in injuries.
USAGE:
- 〜が痛々しい (~ is pitiful/painful to see)
- 痛々しい姿 (a pitiful sight)
- 見ていて痛々しい (painful to watch)
NUANCE:
Can express:
1. Genuine sympathy - feeling sorry for someone's suffering
2. Secondhand embarrassment - cringing at someone's behavior
The word evokes a visceral reaction, as if the observer feels the pain themselves.
RELATED:
- 気の毒 (pitiful, unfortunate)
- 哀れ (pathos, pity)
- 見るに堪えない (unbearable to watch)