What does 痛 mean in Japanese?
痛 means pain or hurt. It has three kun’yomi forms that N4 learners need to keep clear: 痛い (itai, adjective: it hurts / painful), 痛む (itamu, intransitive verb: to ache, to be in pain), and 痛める (itameru, transitive verb: to hurt or injure something). The adjective form 痛い is the most frequent in everyday speech and is typically the first form learners encounter.
The on’yomi ツウ appears in medical compounds such as 頭痛 (zutsuu, headache) and 腹痛 (fukutsuu, stomachache). 痛み (itami) is the everyday noun form meaning pain. These forms are useful for describing symptoms at a clinic or pharmacy.
Reading
On’yomi: ツウ (tsuu)
Kun’yomi: いた-い (ita-i), いた-む (ita-mu), いた-める (ita-meru)
Basic Information
| Kanji | 痛 |
|---|---|
| Meaning | pain, hurt |
| Stroke Count | 12 |
| JLPT Level | N4 |
How to Understand This Kanji
痛い (adjective): directly expresses that something hurts — 足が痛い (my foot hurts), 痛いです (it is painful). 痛む (intransitive): the affected part is experiencing ongoing pain — 傷が痛む (the wound is aching), 胃が痛む (my stomach is aching). The subject is the body part, not the person. 痛める (transitive): a body part is hurt, strained, or injured through some action or accident — 腰を痛める (to hurt one’s back), 膝を痛める (to injure one’s knee).
Common Words
- 痛い（いたい / itai） — it hurts, painful (adjective)
- 痛む（いたむ / itamu） — to ache, to be in pain (intransitive)
- 痛める（いためる / itameru） — to hurt, to injure (transitive)
- 痛み（いたみ / itami） — pain, ache (noun)
- 頭痛（ずつう / zutsuu） — headache
- 腹痛（ふくつう / fukutsuu） — stomachache, abdominal pain
Example Sentences
-
足が痛くて歩けません。
あしがいたくてあるけません。 / Ashi ga itakute arukemasen.
My foot hurts and I cannot walk.
-
歯が痛むので歯医者に行きます。
はがいたむのではいしゃにいきます。 / Ha ga itamu node haisha ni ikimasu.
My tooth is aching so I will go to the dentist.
-
転んで膝を痛めてしまいました。
ころんでひざをいためてしまいました。 / Koronde hiza o itamete shimaimashita.
I fell and hurt my knee.
When Learners Usually See This Kanji
The adjective/intransitive/transitive set for 痛 is best learned together. 足が痛い (my foot hurts, current state), 足が痛む (my foot is aching, ongoing), 足を痛めた (I hurt my foot, I caused damage to it). The three forms describe the same basic situation from different grammatical angles, and switching between them fluently is a mark of natural Japanese.
痛い is also used colloquially beyond physical pain. 痛い発言 (a cringe-worthy remark), 痛い人 (an embarrassing person). This figurative use — meaning ‘cringeworthy’ or ’embarrassing’ — is common in internet language and casual speech. At N4, the physical meaning is primary; the figurative use is worth recognising in listening.
痛み (itami, pain) is the noun form: 痛みがある (there is pain), 痛みが引く (the pain eases), 痛みに耐える (to endure the pain). At a clinic or pharmacy, saying どこが痛みますか？ (Where does it hurt?) or 痛みはどのくらいですか？ (How much pain are you in?) are useful phrases.
頭痛 (zutsuu, headache) and 腹痛 (fukutsuu, stomachache) use the on’yomi ツウ. These medical terms appear on medicine labels and in clinical descriptions. 歯痛 (shitsuu, toothache) and 腰痛 (youtsuu, lower back pain) follow the same pattern of body part + 痛.
Summary
痛 means pain or hurt, with 痛い (adjective), 痛む (intransitive verb), and 痛める (transitive verb) as the three core forms. The on’yomi ツウ appears in medical compounds like 頭痛 and 腹痛. 痛み is the standard noun for pain.