Audio
苦 (kǔ) English Meaning
- bitter
- hardship
- pain
- to suffer
- painstaking
Traditional Character: 苦
This character forms words in:
HSK 4, HSK 5 and HSK 6. CLICK HERE to see them all.
Sample Sentences
- 她苦笑了一下。
Tā kǔxiàole yīxià.
She smiled a bitter smile. - 请来一品脱苦啤酒。
Qǐng lái yīpǐn tuō kǔ píjiǔ.
A pint of bitter, please. - 他一生为急性疼痛所苦。
Tā yīshēng wèi jíxìng téngtòng suǒ kǔ.
He’s suffering from acute pain in his life. - 难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。
Nànmín kǔyú quēshǎo shíwù hé yīyào yòngpǐn.
The refugees are suffering for want of food and medical supplies. - 虽然汤药很苦，我还是不得不喝了。
Suīrán tāngyào hěn kǔ, wǒ háishì bùdé bù hēle.
I had to take the herb tea although it’s bitter. - 我想看见他受辱，他使别人吃苦，也让他吃同样的苦。
Wǒ xiǎng kànjiàn tā shòurǔ, tā shǐ biérén chīkǔ, yě ràng tā chī tóngyàng de kǔ.
I want to see him humiliated, suffering as much as he has made others suffer.
Stroke Order & Character Components
苦 (kǔ): bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly
- 艹 (cao): vegetable
- 古 (gǔ): ancient; old; paleo-
Links to all HSK Words & Lists Containing 苦
HSK 4 Word List
- 苦 (kǔ): bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; painstaking
- 辛苦 (xīn kǔ): hard; exhausting; with much toil; thanks for your trouble
HSK 5 Word List
- 艰苦 (jiān kǔ): difficult; hard; arduous
- 刻苦 (kè kǔ): hardworking; assiduous
- 痛苦 (tòng kǔ): pain; suffering; painful; CL: 個|个(gè)
HSK 6 Word List
- 吃苦 (chī kǔ): to bear; hardships
- 苦尽甘来 (kǔ jìn gān lái): bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom); the hard times are over, the good times just beginning
- 苦涩 (kǔ sè): bitter and astringent; pained; agonized
*CL: Classifier/Measure Word
