しんどい (shindoi) means “tiring,” “exhausting,” or “hard to bear.” It can describe physical fatigue or a difficult emotional situation. It was associated with western Japanese speech and is now widely understood; its register is conversational rather than formal.
しんどい · also shindoi / しんど / しんどかった
exhausting, draining · I'm wiped out · hard going, more than I can face
Sentences
しんどい · said flat
plain。。
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今日
きょう ［1］
today
noun used adverbially · no particle needed
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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しんどかった
しんどかった ［3］
was exhausting
past of しんどい · standard い-adjective inflection
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もう
もう
already; I'm done
adverb · marking the limit having been reached
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無理
むり ［1］
can't do it
な-adjective · used alone as 'that's my limit'
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Today was rough. I'm done.
しんどい仕事 · attached to a noun
polite、。
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しんどい
しんどい ［3］
draining
い-adjective attributive · describing the work by its effect
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仕事
しごと ［0］
work; job
noun · the job or the task, depending on context
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · the polite assertion
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が
が
but
conjunction · the polite contrast
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好き
すき ［2］
like it
な-adjective · takes が for what is liked
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · politeness on a な-adjective predicate
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It's draining work, but I like it.
しんどそう · about someone else
plain、？
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しんどそう
しんどそう ［3］
you look worn out
そう from the adjective stem · appearance, not fact
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だ
だ
(plain copula)
copula · そう behaves as a な-adjective and takes だ
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ね
ね
isn't it
sentence particle · softening an observation about another person
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大丈夫
だいじょうぶ ［3］
are you okay
な-adjective · used alone as a question
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You look wrecked — are you okay?
しんどい · the emotional sense
plain。
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人間関係
にんげんかんけい ［5］
relationships with people
noun · 人間 human ＋ 関係 relations, the office-politics sense
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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一番
いちばん ［2］
most of all
adverb · the superlative, marking the worst part
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しんどい
しんどい ［3］
wearing me down
い-adjective · emotional weight, not physical tiredness
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The people side of it is wearing me down.
きつい · the contrast
plain past、。
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練習
れんしゅう ［0］
training; practice
noun · 練習する to practise
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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きつくて
きつくて
was harsh and
て-form of きつい · about the difficulty of the thing itself
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今
いま ［1］
now
noun used adverbially · the present moment
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も
も
too; as well
particle · replaces を and が, never stacks with them
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しんどい
しんどい ［3］
I'm still wrecked
い-adjective · the state the training left behind
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The training was brutal, and I'm still shattered.
しんどい · declining an invitation
polite、。
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すみません
すみません
sorry
expression · apology and thanks both, depending on context
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今日
きょう ［1］
today
noun used adverbially · the reason is limited to today
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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ちょっと
ちょっと
a bit
adverb · the standard softener before a refusal
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しんどくて
しんどくて ［3］
I'm worn out, so
て-form of しんどい · giving the reason and trailing off
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Sorry — I'm too wiped out today.
Forms
しんどい
Said flat, to yourself or a friend. The most common use by a distance, and it needs nothing else.
しんどい＋仕事 / 一日 / 話
しんどい仕事. Draining work. Attributive, and it takes an ordinary い-adjective ending.
しんど＋かった
Standard past. What you say once the thing is over and you are still feeling it.
しんど＋そう
しんどそうだね. You look wrecked. About someone else, since you cannot observe their state directly.
Meaning
しんどい is a state, not an event. 疲れた is past tense because it reports becoming tired. しんどい is an adjective because it reports how you are right now — and that is why it can describe a situation you are still inside.
きつい is about the thing. きつい仕事 is demanding work; しんどい is what the work has done to you. The two often appear together for exactly that reason.
It covers emotional weight too. 人間関係がしんどい — the relationships are wearing me down. 疲れた can do this but sounds lighter; しんどい is the word people reach for when it is genuinely hard.
The Kansai label is out of date. It began in the Kansai region and is now ordinary across Japan, including Tokyo. What it is not is formal — keep it out of writing to a client, the same as you would きつい.
Inside the word
An origin in 辛労 is sometimes proposed, but the derivation is not settled. In ordinary writing the adjective is usually written しんどい in kana.
The word has a western Japanese association and is widely understood beyond that region. It remains conversational, so the regional label alone does not describe its current use.
疲れた is a verb in the past — you became tired, an event. しんどい is an adjective — this is how it is now. Both can describe a situation you are still inside, with different focus.
Watch out
It is spoken, casual register. For work, 負担が大きい or 厳しい状況です carries the same content without the slump.
You cannot report someone else's internal state directly. しんどそう — they look it — is the form you want.
疲れた reports the event of getting tired. しんどい reports the present weight, which is why it works for an ongoing situation and 疲れた reads oddly there.
Also asked
It is associated with western Japanese speech and now understood more widely. The dialect label survives in textbooks more than in speech.
疲れた is a past-tense verb — you got tired. しんどい is an adjective — this is how it feels now. For a situation you are still in, only しんどい fits.
きつい describes the thing: demanding, harsh. しんどい describes you. きつい仕事でしんどい is a perfectly natural sentence.
Yes, and that is one of its main uses. 人間関係がしんどい — the relationships are wearing me down. It is the everyday word for that.
To colleagues, yes. In writing to a client or a superior, no — use 負担が大きい or 厳しい instead.
しんどそうだね. The そう marks it as your observation of how they look, which is all you can actually claim about another person's state.
References
Shogakukan dictionaries via Kotobank: しんどい — physical and mental hardship
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