苦痛

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 苦痛 is read as くつう and is a noun for hard-to-endure physical pain or mental suffering.
• Basic usage: Something painful to a person appears in 彼には苦痛だ, while depicting a character's suffering appears in 主人公の苦痛を描く.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Physical and mental suffering
  • It can describe both bodily distress from maintaining a posture and emotional suffering caused by loss.
• Difference from 痛み
  • 痛み directly denotes pain in a particular part or emotional hurt, while 苦痛 focuses on a state of suffering that is difficult to bear.