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What does 苦 mean in Chinese?

苦 (kǔ) means "bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly" in Chinese. It is an HSK Level 4 word.

How do you pronounce 苦?

苦 is pronounced "kǔ" in Mandarin Chinese. The tone number is 3.

What HSK level is 苦?

苦 is an HSK Level 4 word (HSK 2.0: Level 4, HSK 3.0: Level 4).

What words contain the character 苦?

Common words with 苦 include 刻苦 (hardworking), 何苦 (why bother?), 八苦 (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 (Buddhism)), 冤苦 (suffering from injustice), 劳苦 (labor).

How do you write 苦?

You can practice writing 苦 using our stroke order tool.

苦 (kǔ) — bitter | Chinese Dictionary

苦

kǔ

bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer

HSK 4verb

Character Breakdown

Radical: 艸 (no. 140)

View stroke order →

Definitions

(verb) bitter
hardship
pain
to suffer
to bring suffering to
painstakingly

Example Sentences

这个药很苦。

Zhège yào hěn kǔ

This medicine is bitter

Words Containing 苦

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
刻苦	kè kǔ	hardworking	HSK 5
何苦	hé kǔ	why bother?
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 (Buddhism)
冤苦	yuān kǔ	suffering from injustice
劳苦	láo kǔ	labor
二遍苦	èr biàn kǔ	second persecution
何苦呢	hé kǔ ne	why bother?
倒苦水	dào kǔ shuǐ	to pour out one's grievances
不胜其苦	bù shèng qí kǔ	unable to bear the pain (idiom)
不辞劳苦	bù cí láo kǔ	to spare no effort

Showing 10 of 20 · View all words with 苦 →

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含辛茹苦(hán xīn rú kǔ)— to suffer every possible torment (idiom); bitter hardship

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哑巴吃黄连，有苦说不出(yǎ ba chī huáng lián , yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū)— to be forced to suffer in silence (idiom)

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切肤之痛(qiè fū zhī tòng)— keenly felt pain

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HSK & Exam Info

HSK 2.0: Level 4HSK 3.0: Level 4

Study this word →

Frequently Asked Questions

苦

kǔ