重い
omoi
Hearts get heavy too — 重い is the pull downward
The picture A pull downward, strong enough that it won't lift easily. 重い is pulled down and won't move easily; 軽い has no pull and lifts at once.
Where the picture shows up in 重い
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an object pulled down
この箱は重いので、二人で運びましょう。
kono hako wa omoi node, futari de hakobimashō
This box is heavy — let's carry it together.
Trying to lift a box and feeling your back bend before it does
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the body pulled down
今日は体が重くて、動きたくありません。
kyō wa karada ga omokute, ugokitaku arimasen
My body feels heavy today, I don't want to move.
A foot that made it out of the futon being drawn back in again
体が重い is what you say when you feel sluggish.
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the mind pulled down
明日の面談は少し気が重いです。
ashita no mendan wa sukoshi ki ga omoi desu
I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's meeting.
A hand closing the planner on the page with the meeting time on it
気が重い = to feel reluctant, to dread.
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illness pulling down
症状はまだ重いですか。
shōjō wa mada omoi desu ka
Are the symptoms still severe?
A body in bed trying to sit up and sinking back onto the pillow
A severe illness is 重い; a mild one is 軽い.
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responsibility pressing down
これは責任が重い仕事です。
kore wa sekinin ga omoi shigoto desu
This job carries heavy responsibility.
Taking a single sheet of paper and feeling your shoulders drop a hand's width
All of it in one picture
重い is one picture: a pull downward. Put that pull in a box and one person cannot lift it, so two of you carry it; put it in the body and getting out of the futon is the hard part. Put it in the mind and tomorrow's meeting keeps dragging at your feet; put it in an illness and the patient cannot raise himself off the pillow. Put it in a responsibility and the shoulders sink as the papers are handed over.