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What can it mean when someone is talking about love and they use this phrase?
Example:

> 恋愛感情。
>
> 俺があの人に対して抱いている気持ちは、それなのだろうか。
>
> 綺麗だと思うし、ずっと見ていたい。今日のあの出来事を、忘れたくない。思い出すと胸が苦しくなった。
>
> もしかしてこれは。
>
> 「恋かな」

Doesn't sound like the main character is describing a negative feeling, yet
using 苦 in a positive sense seems quite strange to me... Or is it normal?
Perhaps it even can mean an actual physical sensation? (also seems strange to
me, but I admit I'm not highly experienced in love)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-31T20:33:42.703
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2016-06-01T05:53:32.983
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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question
expressions
Using 胸が苦しい when talking about love
I think it refers to experiencing such strong emotion almost such that it
becomes physical. I think in this case it's referring to the strong emotion of
not wanting to forget (忘れたくない) and that it hurts just thinking about what
happened today.

It's used quite often in song lyrics and reminds me of "it pains me to part",
other people have mentioned "heart-throbbing".
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-31T20:37:25.077
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2016-05-31T23:22:13.010
2016-05-31T23:22:13.010
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胸が苦しい has 3 possible meanings according to
[weblio](http://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E8%83%B8%E3%81%8C%E8%8B%A6%E3%81%97%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B):

>   1. expression for positive affection where one's feeling rises a lot (it
> rises a lot so that it feels painful, similar to a metaphor)
>   2. expression for negative feelings, such as "I'm very very sad" replaced
> with "I feel so sad that my chest hurts"
>   3. both 1 and 2 are possible AND physical pain in the chest
>

From the given context, I would say it is expression for positive affection.
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2016-06-01T02:30:17.840
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In this case 「胸が苦し」means that when ever he thinks of person he feels deep
sadness. There really is not literal translation , so you need to go case by
case.

It can also mean physical pain in the chest or one of deep affection, so much
so that it hurts in a literal sense.

So basically he is describing what he thinks is love and the feelings involved
with it, one being 「胸が苦し」.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-01T04:16:03.227
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