Difficult to do with 〜づらい

Grammar: Difficulty » 〜づらい

Usage Notes

〜づらい describes difficulty from the doer’s point of view: the action is possible, but emotionally hard or physically uncomfortable.

Compared with 〜にくい, it feels more subjective. It fits difficulty that comes from the speaker’s feelings or situation, not the object’s objective properties.

Properties of づらい as an auxiliary adjective include:

• Used with verbs that involve intention.
• Action can be accomplished, but requires hard work to do so (has obstacles to overcome).
• More subjective to the person doing the task than にくい and がたい.

Further Reading

• Describing actions as easy or hard - Tae Kim's Japanese grammar guide (guidetojapanese.org)

Examples

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Difficult to meet up with 〜づらい

Grammar Explanation: Difficult to do with 〜づらい

After recovering from over-dieting, Miku quickly gained back the weight she had lost. She receives a text message from her boyfriend, Shibutani, about scheduling time to meet up between their summer classes, but she turns him down.

みく:

「ごめんね渋谷(しぶたに)」

“I'm sorry, Shibutani.”

「なんかやっぱり会(あ)いづらい…」

“It's still difficult to meet with you...”

「また太(ふと)っちゃって」

“I've put on weight again...”

Difficult to say with 〜づらい

Grammar Explanation: Difficult to do with 〜づらい

Takeo feels Rinko is keeping something from him, but can’t figure out what. Makoto and Ai meet with Rinko to confront her about it.

愛(あい):

「言(い)って！ 猛男(たけお)に言(い)づらいんでしょ？　猛男(たけお)に言(い)わないから！」

“Tell me! It's difficult to say to Takeo, right? But I won't tell Takeo!”

誠(まこと):

「絶対(ぜったい)言(い)う…」

“She'll definitely tell him...”

Difficult to see the text with 〜づらい

Grammar Explanation: Difficult to do with 〜づらい

Komura shares his history book with Mie. Since Mie forgot her glasses, she leans in as she strains to see the material written in the book.

小村(こむら):

「どどどど　どうしたの！？　の！？！？」

“Wh-wh-what's wrong?!”

三重(みえ):

「ちょっと見(み)えづらくて」

“It's a bit difficult to see...”