Meaning of 苦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- bitter
- hardship
- pain
- to suffer
- to bring suffering to
- painstakingly
How to use 苦
苦 describes a bitter taste, like coffee or medicine, and also a hard or painful life. It appears in many common words such as 辛苦 (xīnkǔ) and 痛苦 (tòngkǔ). Example: 这个药很苦。 (Zhège yào hěn kǔ.) This medicine is very bitter.
苦 has the grass radical 艹 on top of 古 (gǔ, old). Picture old grass and bitter herbs that taste harsh, and the bitter taste turns into the idea of hardship.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 苦 (kǔ) with 古 (gǔ, ancient), forgetting the grass radical on top or using the wrong initial sound. Also note that 苦 is third tone, so do not say it flat like 哭 (kū, to cry).
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.
苦 kǔ · bitter · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 苦.
| 痛苦 | tòngkǔ | pain; suffering |
| 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 |
| 受苦 | shòukǔ | to suffer hardship |
| 苦难 | kǔnàn | suffering |
| 苦恼 | kǔnǎo | vexed; distressed |
| 挖苦 | wāku | to speak sarcastically; to make cutting remarks |
| 何苦 | hékǔ | why bother?; is it worth the trouble? |
| 苦力 | kǔlì | bitter work; hard toil |
| 刻苦 | kèkǔ | hardworking; assiduous |
| 吃苦 | chīkǔ | to bear hardships |
Questions about 苦
What does 苦 mean?
苦 (kǔ) means "bitter; hardship" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 苦?
苦 is made of 1 character: 苦 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 苦 an HSK word?
Yes. 苦 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I use 辛苦了 to thank someone?
辛苦了 (xīnkǔ le) means roughly "you have worked hard" and is a polite way to thank someone for their effort. People say it to coworkers, delivery workers, or family after a long task.
Can 苦 mean doing something with great effort?
Yes. As an adverb it can mean painstakingly or earnestly, as in 苦练 (kǔliàn, to practice hard) or 苦等 (kǔděng, to wait a long time anxiously).