苦
kǔ
Pinyin

Definition

苦
 - 
kǔ
  1. bitter
  2. hardship
  3. pain
  4. to suffer
  5. to bring suffering to
  6. painstakingly

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

痛苦
tòng kǔ
  1. 1 pain
  2. 2 suffering
  3. 3 painful
  4. 4 classifier: 个 gè
苦
kǔ
  1. 1 bitter
  2. 2 hardship
  3. 3 pain
  4. 4 to suffer
  5. 5 to bring suffering to
  6. 6 painstakingly
辛苦
xīn kǔ
  1. 1 exhausting
  2. 2 hard
  3. 3 tough
  4. 4 arduous
  5. 5 to work hard
  6. 6 to go to a lot of trouble
  7. 7 hardship(s)
何苦
hé kǔ
  1. 1 why bother?
  2. 2 is it worth the trouble?
刻苦
kè kǔ
  1. 1 hardworking
  2. 2 assiduous

Idioms (20)

不胜其苦
bù shèng qí kǔ
  1. 1 unable to bear the pain (idiom)
倒悬之苦
dào xuán zhī kǔ
  1. 1 lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
  2. 2 dire straits
备尝辛苦
bèi cháng xīn kǔ
  1. 1 to have suffered all kinds of hardships (idiom)
冥思苦想
míng sī kǔ xiǎng
  1. 1 to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard
  2. 2 to rack one's brains
冥思苦索
míng sī kǔ suǒ
  1. 1 to mull over (idiom)
  2. 2 to think long and hard

Sample Sentences

我觉得我们公司的员工最近挺辛苦的。
wǒ juéde wǒmen gōngsī de yuángōng zuìjìn tǐng xīnkǔ de 。
I think that our employees have been working really hard recently.
Go to Lesson 
岂止是辛苦一点，这样连属于自己的时间都没有了。
qǐzhǐ shì xīnkǔ yìdiǎn ，zhèyàng lián shǔyú zìjǐ de shíjiān dōu méiyǒu le 。
It’s not only tough, you barely have time for yourself.
Go to Lesson 
是辛苦了一点，可是我觉得我们工作氛围很好呀，干劲十足。
shì xīnkǔ le yìdiǎn ，kěshì wǒ juéde wǒmen gōngzuò fēnwéi hěn hǎo ya ，gànjìn shízú 。
It’s a bit tough, but I think we have a good working atmosphere and we’re are very motivated.
Go to Lesson 
你看看，现在不只有座位了，还开辟了品茶室，不用像你那样做个苦巴巴的书虫了。
nǐ kànkan ，xiànzài bù zhǐ yǒu zuòwèi le ，hái kāipì le pǐnchá Shì ，búyòng xiàng nǐ nàyàng zuò ge Kǔbābā de shūchóng le 。
Look, apart from chairs there is even a cafe. There is no need to be a pathetic bookworm like before.
Go to Lesson 
乐在其中，又怎会在意条件艰苦呢？
lèzàiqízhōng ，yòu zěn huì zàiyì tiáojiàn jiānkǔ ne ？
I was happy and contented to care about the difficult conditions.
Go to Lesson 
怎么会苦巴巴呢？书中自有黄金屋，书中自有颜如玉呀。
zěnme huì ne ？shū zhōng zìyǒu huángjīnwū ，shū zhōng zìyǒu Yán rú yù ya 。
How can you feel pathetic? Gold and beauty can be found in books.
Go to Lesson 
这边厢话题热腾腾的刚出口，那边厢就给你冷冰冰地怼回来了。无论什么时候，胆敢摆出一副苦口婆心的架势，得到的将会是尴尬而不失礼貌的微笑。
zhè biānxiāng huàtí rè téngténg de gāng chūkǒu ，nà biānxiāng jiù gěi nǐ lěng bīng bīng de duǐ huílai le 。wúlùn shénme shíhou ，dǎngǎn bǎi chū yī fù kǔkǒupóxīn de jiàshi ，dédào de jiāng huì shì gāngà ér bù shī lǐmào de wēixiào 。
This side just warmed up the topic, that side already retorted coldly. Whenever you dare to make a didactic gesture, you will get a polite and awkward smile.
Go to Lesson 
吃得苦中苦，方为人上人”
chī de kǔ zhōng kǔ ，fāng wéi rén shàng rén ”
Those who persevere hardest hardships, will be the best of the best.
Go to Lesson 
如若听说一个孩子在重点学校、尖子班，班主任抓的严，或者孩子自加压力，主动要求上各种辅导班，其它家长的反应都是满满地对别人家孩子的羡慕和赞叹，好像一眼就看到了这位刻苦学习的好孩子用时间兑换出了光辉灿烂的未来。
rúruò tīngshuō yīgē háizi zài chóngdiǎn xuéxiào 、jiānzi Bān ，bānzhǔrèn zhuā de Yán ，huòzhě háizi zì Jiā yālì ，zhǔdòng yāoqiú shàng gèzhǒng fǔdǎobān ，qítā jiāzhǎng de fǎnyìng dōu shì mǎnmǎn de duì biéren jiā háizi de xiànmù hé zàntàn ，hǎoxiàng yīyǎn jiù kàndào le zhèwèi kèkǔ xuéxí de hǎo háizi yòng shíjiān duìhuàn chū le guānghuīcànlàn de wèilái 。
If one hears that a child is in an "elite school", an "elite class", their homeroom teacher is "strict", or that the child is putting undue stress on himself/herself by taking additional classes, other parents usually respond with full-hearted compliments to this "other people's child", as if already seeing with a glance the bright future this good, hard-working kid is exchanging for his/her childhood.
Go to Lesson 
来，你先啜饮一小口，在嘴巴里面停留个五秒再吞下去，你可以感觉到些微的苦味，透着一点点百香果的甜味和香气，这就是精酿啤酒才会有的、有深度的味道。
lái ，nǐ xiān chuòyǐn yī xiǎo kǒu ，zài zuǐba lǐmiàn tíngliú ge wǔ miǎo zài tūn xiàqù ，nǐ kěyǐ gǎnjué dào xiēwēi de kǔwèi ，tòu zhe yīdiǎndiǎn bǎixiāngguǒ de tiánwèi hé xiāngqì ，zhè jiùshì jīngniàngpíjiǔ cái huì yǒu de 、yǒu shēndù de wèidao 。
Come, first take a small sip. Leave it in your mouth for five seconds before swallowing it. You can feel a slight bitterness, cut through with a little of the passion fruit’s sweetness and fragrance. That’s the deep flavour that only craft beer has.
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