painful
/ˈpeɪnfl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpeɪnfl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpān-fəl/ (ame, mw)
painful — 形容詞
- painfulpositive
- more painfulcomparative
- most painfulsuperlative
1. making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.
疼痛；痛苦
會造成身體或情感上的痛
making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.
The cut on Nina's heel was painful inside her new shoes.
Nina 腳跟的傷口在新鞋裡痛得很厲害。
painful + injury/body part
The bruise on Ava's ribs stayed painful for three days.
Ava 肋骨上的瘀青疼了三天都還沒好。
pattern: be painful for + time
Losing the family dog was painful for Emma and her brother.
失去家裡的狗，對 Emma 和弟弟來說很痛苦。
Reading her old text messages was painful after the breakup.
分手後，再讀她以前的訊息讓人很難受。
The dentist warned that the shot might be painful for a second.
牙醫提醒說，那一針可能會疼一下。
- sore
usually describes a hurting body part rather than an event or memory
- hurtful
mainly used for words or actions that wound feelings
- distressing
more formal and focuses on emotional upset
- agonizing
much stronger and suggests extreme pain
- painless
describes something that does not hurt
- comforting
describes something that makes feelings easier rather than worse
文法句型
a painful cut/injury
a painful memory/loss
be painful
用法筆記
Often describes body parts, injuries, memories, and losses. Distinguish from sense 3, which usually describes an action or situation that is hard to do rather than something that directly causes pain.
常見錯誤
2. so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.
難堪
糟到讓旁人看聽都尷尬
so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.
The interview was painful to watch after Ben forgot every answer.
Ben 每題都答不出來，那場訪談看得人很難堪。
pattern: painful to watch
That fake laugh was painful to listen to during dinner.
晚餐時，那個假笑聲聽起來尷尬得讓人坐立難安。
pattern: painful to listen to
Watching Eric flirt on stage was painful for the whole class.
看 Eric 在台上調情，讓全班都替他覺得尷尬。
Her speech was painful to hear because every joke fell flat.
她的演講每個笑話都冷場，聽起來非常難堪。
The talent show became painful when two judges started shouting.
兩位評審一吵起來，整場才藝表演就變得很尷尬。
- embarrassing
broader and can describe either your own mistake or something you watch
- awkward
weaker and often describes a social situation rather than bad quality
- cringeworthy
informal and strongly suggests second-hand embarrassment
文法句型
painful to watch
painful to listen to
painful to hear
用法筆記
Most often appears in patterns like painful to watch, painful to listen to, and painful to hear. It usually describes a bad performance, speech, or social moment that causes second-hand embarrassment, not actual injury.
常見錯誤
3. hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effo
難熬；棘手
做起來不舒服或費力
hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effort.
For Maya, admitting the mistake was painful in front of clients.
要 Maya 在客戶面前承認錯誤，實在很難熬。
Sorting her father's clothes felt painful after the funeral.
葬禮後，整理父親的衣服讓人很難受。
The visa form was painful to finish without a local address.
那份簽證表因為沒有當地地址而很棘手，填起來很麻煩。
Writing the apology email was painful, but Nora finally pressed send.
寫那封道歉信很難熬，但 Nora 最後還是按下了送出。
The meeting became painful once the budget cuts were discussed.
一談到預算刪減，整場會議就變得很難熬。
- difficult
the most general word and does not always suggest emotional strain
- awkward
often stresses social discomfort more than effort
- unpleasant
broader and weaker than painful
- exhausting
focuses more on draining effort than on discomfort or embarrassment
- easy
not hard to do
- straightforward
simple and not emotionally difficult
文法句型
painful to admit
painful to finish
a painful decision/process
用法筆記
Common before a to-infinitive or with tasks such as admit, discuss, decide, and finish. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on the difficulty of the action or situation, not direct physical or emotional pain from a person or thing.