くる
苦
　
し
　
い

adjective

  1. painful, difficult, tough, hard.
  2. distressing, (psychologically) difficult, stressful, awkward (e.g. position).
  3. straitened (circumstances), tight (financial situation), needy, struggling.
  4. strained (interpretation, explanation, etc.), lame (e.g. excuse), forced (e.g. smile), far-fetched.

suffix, adjective

After -masu stem of verb; often ぐるしい.
  1. hard to do, unpleasant.

Variations

Pronunciation Kanji Kana Is Common
くる
苦
　
し
　
い
 苦しい くるしい ✔

Contained Kanji Breakdown

suffering, trial, worry
ク　くる.しい　にが.い (3rd, N3)
grass, grass radical (no. 140)
old
コ　ふる.い　ふゆ (2nd, N4)
ten
ジュウ　ジッ　ジュッ (1st, N5)
mouth
くち　コウ　ク (1st, N4)