How to say tough in Japanese

JLPTN3
きついkitsui☆・キツいKITSUi Inflection

adjective:

  • tough; hard; severe; demanding; harsh - sometimes written 緊い
  • determined; strong-minded; forceful; formidable; fierce
  • strong (e.g. sunlight, alcohol); severe; intense
  • (too) tight; constricting; close
  • extreme; unusually strong

Example Sentences

部活bukatsuのnoかけもちkakemochi、大変taihenだdaとto思うomouけどkedoがんばれganbareよyo。
I'm sure it's tough taking part in the activities of two clubs, but good luck!
来週raishuuからkara中間テストchuukanTESUTOだda。一夜漬けichiyazukeじゃja、太刀打ちできないtachiuchidekinai問題mondaiばかりbakariだdaぞzo。今日kyouからkara始めろhajimeroよyo。
Midterm exams start next week. Just cramming the night before won't get you ready. There'll be a lot of tough questions. You should start studying today.
目的mokutekiをwo果たすhatasuのnoはhaきつkitsuそうsouだったdatta。
It looked tough to achieve his aim.
僕bokuのno直属chokuzokuのno上司joushiはha気難しいkimuzukashii。
My immediate boss is tough to please.
僕bokuにはniha分かっているwakatteiruトムTOMUはhaがんばれるganbareruさsa。
Tom can hang tough, I am sure.

© Based on JMdict, KANJIDIC2, and JMnedict, property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, used in conformance with the Group's licence. Example sentences from the Tatoeba project (CC BY 2.0). Kanji stroke order data from the KanjiVG project by Ulrich Apel (CC BY-SA 3.0). See comprehensive list of data sources for more info.