Meaning of 艰苦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- difficult
- hard
- arduous
How to use 艰苦
艰苦 describes tough living or working conditions, or an effort that takes a lot of hardship to finish. It often goes with words like 条件 (tiáojiàn), 环境 (huánjìng), and 生活 (shēnghuó). Example: 那里的生活条件很艰苦。(Nàlǐ de shēnghuó tiáojiàn hěn jiānkǔ.) The living conditions there are very hard.
艰 (jiān) means hard or difficult, and 苦 (kǔ) means bitter. Put them together and you get a life that is hard and bitter, which is what 艰苦 describes.
Common mistake: Learners often use 艰苦 where 辛苦 (xīnkǔ) fits better. 辛苦 is about a person being tired from work, as in 你辛苦了 (nǐ xīnkǔ le). 艰苦 is about harsh conditions or circumstances, so you would not say 你艰苦了.
艰苦 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.
艰 jiān · difficult · 8 strokes
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苦 kǔ · bitter · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 艰苦.
| 痛苦 | tòngkǔ | pain; suffering |
| 辛苦 | xīnkǔ | exhausting; hard |
| 艰难 | jiānnán | difficult; arduous; 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 |
| 受苦 | shòukǔ | to suffer hardship |
| 苦难 | kǔnàn | suffering |
| 苦恼 | kǔnǎo | vexed; distressed |
| 艰辛 | jiānxīn | hardships; arduous |
| 挖苦 | wāku | to speak sarcastically; to make cutting remarks |
| 艰巨 | jiānjù | (of a task, mission or responsibility) extremely difficult; challenging; demanding |
| 何苦 | hékǔ | why bother?; is it worth the trouble? |
| 苦力 | kǔlì | bitter work; hard toil |
Questions about 艰苦
What does 艰苦 mean?
艰苦 (jiānkǔ) means "difficult; hard" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 艰苦?
艰苦 is made of 2 characters: 艰 (8 strokes), 苦 (8 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 艰苦 an HSK word?
Yes. 艰苦 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 艰苦 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 艰苦 is written 艱苦.
What is the difference between 艰苦 and 艰难?
艰苦 stresses harsh, materially poor conditions and the hardship of enduring them. 艰难 (jiānnán) stresses that something is difficult to do or get through, like 艰难的决定 (a hard decision).
Is 艰苦 used in common set phrases?
Yes. A very common one is 艰苦奋斗 (jiānkǔ fèndòu), meaning to work hard and struggle through difficult conditions. You will also see 艰苦朴素 (jiānkǔ pǔsù), meaning hardworking and living simply.