Hurtful and Painful are two English words that often confuse learners and native speakers. They are words for different things.
Let’s see why!
Difference between hurtful and painful
Hurtful is when something causes emotional pain or hurts your feelings. It’s about words or actions that stir negative emotions.
Painful, on the other hand, is more about physical pain, like when you stub your toe or have a sore muscle. However, you can also use it for emotional pain.
Think of hurtful as something that “hurts your heart”. Think of painful as something that “hurts your body”.
For example, you can say:
Insensitive remarks can be hurtful.
Every movement is painful.
Hurtful and painful sound different too:
Hurtful
Painful
Other examples with hurtful and painful in English
Tom said something hurtful to Layla.
What a hurtful thing to say!
A hurtful word continues to dig like a knife.
Is teeth cleaning painful?
That was painful to watch.
Giving birth is extremely painful.
What now?
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Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
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