耐(た)え難(がた)い

たえがたい

i-adjective

unbearable; intolerable; hard to endure

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	耐(た)え難(がた)い	耐(た)え難(がた)くない
Past	耐(た)え難(がた)かった	耐(た)え難(がた)くなかった
て form	耐(た)え難(がた)くて	耐(た)え難(がた)くなくて
Adverbial	耐(た)え難(がた)く	—
Conditional ば	耐(た)え難(がた)ければ	耐(た)え難(がた)くなければ
Conditional たら	耐(た)え難(がた)かったら	耐(た)え難(がた)くなかったら

1. unbearable; intolerable; hard to endure

So painful, difficult, or unpleasant that it is extremely hard to bear or put up with.

耐(た)え難(がた)い痛(いた)みだ。

It's an unbearable pain.

耐(た)え難(がた)い暑(あつ)さの中(なか)、作業(さぎょう)を続(つづ)けた。

They continued working in the unbearable heat.

耐(た)え難(がた)きを耐(た)え、忍(しの)び難(がた)きを忍(しの)び。

Enduring the unendurable, bearing the unbearable.

Famous phrase from Emperor Showa's 1945 radio address announcing Japan's surrender.

Formed from 耐(た)える (to endure) + 難(がた)い (difficult to ~). A literary and formal expression for extreme difficulty in enduring something. Also written 耐(た)えがたい, with the がたい part in kana; both spellings are common.

Cultural note

The phrase 耐(た)え難(がた)きを耐(た)え、忍(しの)び難(がた)きを忍(しの)び is one of the most famous lines in modern Japanese history, from the 玉音放送(ぎょくおんほうそう) (Imperial radio broadcast) on August 15, 1945, in which Emperor Showa announced Japan's surrender.

Common collocations

耐(た)え難(がた)い痛(いた)み — unbearable pain
耐(た)え難(がた)い苦(くる)しみ — intolerable suffering
耐(た)え難(がた)い屈辱(くつじょく) — unbearable humiliation
耐(た)え難(がた)い暑(あつ)さ — unbearable heat

Similar words

我慢(がまん)できない — can't stand it; more colloquial
信(しん)じ難(がた)い — hard to believe; same ～難(がた)い pattern
堪(た)えられない — unbearable; spoken/colloquial equivalent

Related Words

Compare: 信(しん)じ難(がた)い (hard to believe)

Compare: 忍(しの)び難(がた)い (unbearable, intolerable)

Compare: 許(ゆる)し難(がた)い (unforgivable)

general

Added 2026.3.26 20:49 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

19500/19680_taegatai