苦
kǔ
HSK level: HSK 4
Meaning
bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly
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Characters
Examples
人生良苦。
Rén shēng liáng kǔ.
Life is very hard.
人生苦短，岁月如梭。
Rén shēng kǔ duǎn, suì yuè rú suō.
Life is short and time is swift.
Words with this character
痛苦 tòng kǔ pain辛苦 xīn kǔ exhausting艰苦 jiān kǔ difficult苦难 kǔ nàn suffering苦恼 kǔ nǎo vexed刻苦 kè kǔ hardworking受苦 shòu kǔ to suffer hardship挖苦 wā kǔ to speak sarcastically苦练 kǔ liàn to train hard何苦 hé kǔ why bother?吃苦 chī kǔ to bear hardships诉苦 sù kǔ to grumble苦力 kǔ lì bitter work苦笑 kǔ xiào to force a smile苦心 kǔ xīn painstaking effort艰苦奋斗 jiān kǔ fèn dòu to struggle arduously酸甜苦辣 suān tián kǔ là sour, sweet, bitter and spicy愁眉苦脸 chóu méi kǔ liǎn to look anxious苦尽甘来 kǔ jìn gān lái bitterness finishes, sweetness begins苦味 kǔ wèi bitter taste苦差事 kǔ chāi shi see 苦差 kǔ chāi八苦 bā kǔ the eight distresses - birth, age, sickness, death, parting with what we love, meeting with what we hate, unattained aims, and all the ills of the five skandhas悲苦 bēi kǔ forlorn