苦くるしい

1. 1painful ; difficult ; tough ; hard
2. 2distressing ; (psychologically) difficult ; stressful ; awkward (e.g. position)
3. 3straitened (circumstances) ; tight (financial situation) ; needy ; struggling
4. 4strained (interpretation, explanation, etc.) ; lame (e.g. excuse) ; forced (e.g. smile) ; far-fetched
5. 5hard to do ; unpleasant

JMdict entry 1244320 · frequency rank 18. Source and licence.