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25 Nov 2020
- Japanese
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English (US)
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Question about English (US)
What is the difference between That's tough. and That's harsh. ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between That's tough. and That's harsh. ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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25 Nov 2020
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- English (US)
I know that this can be confusing coming from Japanese which uses 「大変」for both concepts (if I recall correctly).
"That's tough" refers to the great difficulty of solving or accomplishing something.
"That's harsh" refers to the great severity of someone's criticism or punishment.
Additionally, "That's rough" refers to the great negativity and grave nature of someone's terrible or unfortunate situation.
Otherwise, "That's rough" refers to uneven texture like sandpaper (研磨紙／研磨紙), rocks (岩石), or scales (鱗)。
Essentially, problems and goals can be "tough," people's actions can be "harsh," and unfortunate situations can be "rough."
Highly-rated answerer
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- English (US)
‘That’s tough’ means ‘that’s too bad’. It’s empathetic. ‘That’s harsh’ is more critical. Like ‘you’re being kind of mean’
- English (US)
“That’s tough” can mean “That is difficult” but it can also mean “That’s unfortunate” (which is often expressed as “that’s too bad”).
“That’s harsh” means that something is severe or very critical or extreme in a negative way. For example, you might see someone scolding someone else too sternly and quietly comment to your friend, “Wow, that’s harsh.”
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
I know that this can be confusing coming from Japanese which uses 「大変」for both concepts (if I recall correctly).
"That's tough" refers to the great difficulty of solving or accomplishing something.
"That's harsh" refers to the great severity of someone's criticism or punishment.
Additionally, "That's rough" refers to the great negativity and grave nature of someone's terrible or unfortunate situation.
Otherwise, "That's rough" refers to uneven texture like sandpaper (研磨紙／研磨紙), rocks (岩石), or scales (鱗)。
Essentially, problems and goals can be "tough," people's actions can be "harsh," and unfortunate situations can be "rough."
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
- Japanese
- Japanese
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