づらい

Painful to Do

Level 2Sounds Like zurai

〜づらい is an auxiliary adjective attached to the ます-stem of a verb to mean 'difficult to do.' It specifically highlights the speaker's subjective struggle, discomfort, or psychological hesitation.

How It Works

1. Formation
To use this pattern, take the ます-stem of a verb and attach づらい. The resulting word functions as an い-adjective.

  • 言う（いう）→ 言い + づらい = 言いづらい (Hard to say)
  • 歩く（あるく）→ 歩き + づらい = 歩きづらい (Hard to walk)

2. Subjective vs. Objective
The key to using 〜づらい correctly is understanding that it describes how you feel during the action. If a task is difficult because of the way a tool is designed, you use 〜にくい. If it is difficult because it makes you feel bad, awkward, or physically pained, you use 〜づらい.

3. Volitional Verb Restriction
〜づらい is generally restricted to volitional verbs (actions that involve a person's will or choice). It is not used for non-volitional actions or spontaneous changes. For example, you would use 〜にくい for things that are 'hard to break' or 'hard to dry,' as those are not intentional actions.

4. Common Contexts

  • Physical Discomfort: Using shoes that are too small or eating with a toothache.
  • Psychological Hesitation: Asking a boss for a raise or admitting a mistake.
  • Social Environment: Living in a society with high pressure (生きづらい - hard to live).

Examples (4)

  1. この靴はサイズが合わなくて、歩きづらいです。

    These shoes don't fit, so they are hard to walk in.

    Word by Word: These shoes as for, size not matching, walk-difficult is.

    Here, the difficulty is a physical discomfort caused by the shoes not fitting the speaker's feet.

  2. 本当のことを言うのは、彼には言いづらい。

    It's hard (awkward) to tell him the truth.

    Word by Word: Truth thing to say as for, him to, say-difficult.

    This demonstrates psychological hesitation. The speaker feels awkward or uncomfortable about the social situation.

  3. 最近は物価が上がって、本当に生きづらい世の中になった。

    Lately prices have gone up, and the world has become a truly difficult place to live.

    Word by Word: Recently prices rose, truly live-difficult world became.

    生きづらい（いきづらい） is a common expression used to describe a sense of social or mental burden in one's life.

  4. 喉が痛いので、ご飯が食べづらいです。

    My throat hurts, so it's hard to eat.

    Word by Word: Throat hurts because, meal eat-difficult is.

    The difficulty comes from the physical pain the speaker experiences while performing the action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 〜づらい for objective durability or mechanical difficulty.

    この機械は壊れづらいです。
    この機械は壊れにくいです。

    If a machine is 'hard to break,' that is an objective property of the machine, not a personal emotional struggle. Use 〜にくい for objective facts.

  • Spelling the pattern as 〜ずらい.

    読みずらい本
    読みづらい本

    Although it sounds like 'zu,' it comes from the word 辛い（つらい）. Due to a sound change called rendaku, it becomes づらい. Writing it with ず is a common mistake even among some native speakers in casual texting, but it is grammatically incorrect.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

づらいLevel 2Painful to Do

Learn This First

To understand づらい, you need to know how to conjugate verbs into their stem form (ます-stem) and how い-adjectives function, as the resulting word behaves like an adjective. It is also helpful to be familiar with similar patterns like にくい.

Words in This Pattern

づらい