忍(しの)び難(がた)い

しのびがたい

i-adjective

unbearable, intolerable

Conjugation

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

1. unbearable, intolerable, hard to endure

Describes a situation or feeling that is extremely difficult to bear or tolerate. A literary, elevated expression.

忍(しの)び難(がた)い苦(くる)しみ。

Unbearable suffering.

この屈辱(くつじょく)は忍(しの)び難(がた)いものがある。

This humiliation is something truly hard to bear.

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

Enduring the unendurable, bearing the unbearable.

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

A literary compound adjective from 忍(しの)ぶ (to endure) + 難(がた)い (difficult to). The pattern verb stem + 難(がた)い is productive in formal Japanese.

Famous usage

The phrase 忍(しの)び難(がた)きを忍(しの)び (耐(た)え難(がた)きを耐(た)え) is one of the most famous lines in modern Japanese history, from Emperor Showa's radio broadcast on August 15, 1945, announcing Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.

Similar words

耐(た)え難(がた)い: unbearable — near-synonym; focuses on endurance rather than patience
我慢(がまん)できない: can't stand it — everyday equivalent; conversational
堪(た)えられない: unbearable — slightly more formal than 我慢(がまん)できない

Related Words

Compare: 耐(た)え難(がた)い (unbearable)

general

Added 2026.3.27 14:36 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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