Meaning of 痛苦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- pain
- suffering
- painful
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 痛苦
痛苦 often describes emotional or mental suffering, though it can also describe physical pain. It works as an adjective or a noun. Example: 分手以后他很痛苦。(Fēnshǒu yǐhòu tā hěn tòngkǔ.) He was in a lot of pain after the breakup.
痛 (tòng) has the sickness radical 疒, so it is about pain, and 苦 (kǔ) means bitter. Pain plus bitterness gives you 痛苦: deep suffering you can feel in body and heart.
Common mistake: Learners often use 痛苦 for small physical aches, like a sore leg. For that, 疼 (téng) or 疼痛 (téngtòng) sounds more natural. Also do not mix it up with 痛快 (tòngkuài), which means the opposite: delighted or satisfying.
痛苦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
痛 tòng · ache · 12 strokes
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苦 kǔ · bitter · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 痛苦.
| 痛快 | tòngkuài | delighted; to one's heart's content |
| 辛苦 | xīnkǔ | exhausting; hard |
| 艰苦 | jiānkǔ | difficult; hard |
| 酸甜苦辣 | suān-tián-kǔ-là | (lit.) sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom); (fig.) all kinds of flavors; the joys and so |
| 疼痛 | téngtòng | pain; (of a body part) to be painful; to be sore; to hurt |
| 受苦 | shòukǔ | to suffer hardship |
| 悲痛 | bēitòng | grieved; sorrowful |
| 苦难 | kǔnàn | suffering |
| 苦恼 | kǔnǎo | vexed; distressed |
| 挖苦 | wāku | to speak sarcastically; to make cutting remarks |
| 痛心 | tòngxīn | grieved; pained |
| 惨痛 | cǎntòng | bitter; painful |
Questions about 痛苦
What does 痛苦 mean?
痛苦 (tòngkǔ) means "pain; suffering" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 痛苦?
痛苦 is made of 2 characters: 痛 (12 strokes), 苦 (8 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 痛苦 an HSK word?
Yes. 痛苦 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 痛苦 and 辛苦?
辛苦 (xīnkǔ) means hard work or tiring effort, as in 你辛苦了 (you worked hard). 痛苦 means real suffering or anguish. Saying 你痛苦了 to thank someone would sound strange.
Can 痛苦 be used as a noun?
Yes. You can say 减轻病人的痛苦 (jiǎnqīng bìngrén de tòngkǔ), to ease the patient's suffering. It often follows verbs like 忍受 (rěnshòu, to endure) or 减轻 (to lessen).