苦

kǔ

古 + 艹

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

kǔ (adjective) bitter; painful

kǔ (noun) hardship; suffering

kǔ (verb) to suffer; to endure hardship

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 古 represents the sound.

Semantic: 艹 Phonetic: 古

About

A phonosemantic compound, 苦 combines the grass radical 艹 (plant) on top with 古 (gǔ) below for the sound. It originally referred to a specific herbaceous plant whose taste was intensely bitter and astringent. The displeasure of this flavor provided a powerful metaphor, and the meaning extended to the bitterness of life: physical and emotional suffering, misery, hardship, and the weariness of strenuous labor. Today, 苦 still denotes literal bitterness, but its dominant use is to express suffering, pain, hardship, and the exhaustion of difficult work, the many bitter experiences of human existence.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这药味道很苦。

Zhè yào wèidào hěn kǔ.

This medicine tastes very bitter.

他工作很辛苦。

Tā gōngzuò hěn xīnkǔ.

He works very hard.

学习有时很辛苦。

Xuéxí yǒushí hěn xīnkǔ.

Studying is sometimes very hard.

她苦笑着摇了摇头。

Tā kǔxiào zhe yáole yáotóu.

She smiled bitterly and shook her head.

为了生活，他吃了很多苦。

Wèile shēnghuó, tā chīle hěnduō kǔ.

For the sake of life, he endured a lot of hardship.

虽然训练很苦，但他从不放弃。

Suīrán xùnliàn hěn kǔ, dàn tā cóng bù fàngqì.

Although the training is hard, he never gives up.

苦难并没有击垮他的意志。

Kǔnàn bìng méiyǒu jīkuǎ tā de yìzhì.

Hardship did not crush his will.

历经多年的苦楚，他终于看到了希望的曙光。

Lìjīng duō nián de kǔchǔ, tā zhōngyú kàndàole xīwàng de shǔguāng.

After years of bitterness, he finally saw the dawn of hope.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 古

Component: 艹

苦