1.
heavy load, heavy burden
A physically heavy load or package that is difficult to carry.
重荷を下ろす。
To set down a heavy load.
背中に重荷を背負って山道を歩いた。
I walked the mountain path carrying a heavy load on my back.
この荷物は重荷だから、二人で運ぼう。
This luggage is a heavy load, so let's carry it together.
2.
burden, responsibility, strain
A figurative weight such as a duty, obligation, or emotional strain that is hard to bear.
仕事が重荷になっている。
Work has become a burden.
家族を養う責任が重荷に感じる。
The responsibility of supporting a family feels like a burden.
長年の重荷がやっと取れた気がする。
I feel like a burden I carried for years has finally been lifted.
重荷 can refer to both a literal heavy load and a figurative burden or strain.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 重荷を負う (to bear a burden)
- 重荷を背負う (to carry a burden on one's back)
- 重荷を下ろす (to set down a burden; to be relieved)
- 重荷に感じる (to feel something as a burden)
- 重荷になる (to become a burden)
USAGE:
- The figurative sense (sense 2) is more common in everyday conversation
- 重荷を下ろす is often used figuratively to mean feeling relieved of responsibility