苦 kǔ

1. kǔ noun bitterness; bitter flavor
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Food and Drink , Concept: Flavor 味道
   Notes: One of the 五味 'five flavors', the opposite of 甜 'sweetness' (Guoyu '苦' n 1)
2. kǔ noun hardship; suffering
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: For example, the idiom 苦中作乐 'to enjoy in spite of hardship' (Guoyu '苦' n 2; Unihan '苦')
3. kǔ verb to make things difficult for
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 受累 or 为难 (Guoyu '苦' v 1)
4. kǔ verb to train; to practice
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 磨鍊 (Guoyu '苦' v 2)
5. kǔ verb to suffer from a misfortune
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 患 (Guoyu '苦' v 3)
6. kǔ adjective bitter
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Food and Drink
   Notes: (Guoyu '苦' adj 1; Unihan '苦')
7. kǔ adjective grieved; facing hardship
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 艰辛; for example, 苦日子 'hard times' (Guoyu '苦' adj 2)
8. kǔ adjective in low spirits; depressed
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 愁闷; for example, 愁眉苦脸 'to look anxious' (Guoyu '苦' adj 3)
9. kǔ adverb assiduously; to do one's best; to strive as much as possible
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 尽力 (Guoyu '苦' adv; Han Dian '苦' adj 7)
10. kǔ adjective painful
    Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
    Notes: In the sense of 痛 (Han Dian '苦' adj 4)

Contained in

• 冤苦 suffering from injustice
• 苦战(苦戰) bitter struggle; hard battle; arduous effort
• 良工心苦 expert craft from hard practice; hard-won skill; A masterpiece demands suffering.
• 苦待 to treat harshly
• 忧苦(憂苦) to be worried and suffering
• 苦不堪言 to suffer unspeakable misery; indescribably painful; hellish
• 苦苓 chinaberry (Melia azedarach)
• 苦精 bitters
• 吃得苦中苦，方为人上人(吃得苦中苦，方為人上人) one cannot achieve glory and wealth without having been through trials and tribulations
• 备尝辛苦(備嘗辛苦) to have suffered all kinds of hardships
• 苦寒 bitter cold
• 忆苦思甜(憶苦思甜) to view one's past as miserable and one's present as happy
• 苦恼(苦惱) distress; vexation
• 用心良苦 to ponder earnestly; to give a lot of thought to sth
• 苦楚 suffering; misery
• 同甘苦 to share joys and sorrows; sharing good times and hard times; same as 同甘共苦
• 刻苦耐劳(刻苦耐勞) to bear hardships and work hard; assiduous and long-suffering; hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity
• 苦海无边，回头是岸(苦海無邊，回頭是岸) The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore . Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering.
• 苦水 bitter water ; digestive fluids rising from stomach to the mouth ; suffering; bitter complaint
• 良苦用心 to ponder earnestly; to give a lot of thought to sth
• 苦难(苦難) suffering
• 小洞不堵，大洞受苦 A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole; A stitch in time saves nine.
• 劳心苦思(勞心苦思) to rack one's brains
• 凄风苦雨(淒風苦雨) bleak wind and icy rain; hardships; miserable circumstances
• 苦苦哀求 to entreat piteously; to implore
• 艰苦朴素(艱苦樸素) leading a plain, hardworking life
• 勤学苦练(勤學苦練) to study diligently; to train assiduously
• 苦瓜脸(苦瓜臉) sour expression on one's face
• 苦不唧 slightly bitter
• 不辞劳苦(不辭勞苦) to spare no effort
• 苦窑(苦窯) prison
• 不胜其苦(不勝其苦) unable to bear the pain
• 苦笑 to force a smile; a bitter laugh
• 苦不唧儿(苦不唧兒) slightly bitter
• 万分痛苦(萬分痛苦) excruciating
• 痛疾哀苦 pain and illness, sorrow and suffering
• 倒悬之苦(倒懸之苦) the pain of being hanged upside down; extremely critical situation; dire straits
• 苦刑 torture; corporal punishment (traditionally involving mutilation or amputation)
• 勤奋刻苦(勤奮刻苦) diligent; assiduous
• 孤苦无依(孤苦無依) lonely, poor, and without anybody to depend upon
• 酸甜苦辣 sour, sweet, bitter and spicy hot; the joys and sorrows of life
• 悭吝苦克(慳吝苦剋) hardworking and frugal
• 秘鲁苦蘵(秘魯苦蘵) Peruvian ground-cherry; cape gooseberry; Physalis peruviana
• 苦迭打 coup d'état
• 苦苣 endive
• 苦口婆心 sincere and well meaning advice
• 辛辛苦苦 painstakingly; with great trouble
• 刻苦学习(刻苦學習) to study hard; assiduous
• 小洞不堵，大洞吃苦 a small hole not plugged will give you grief when it gets bigger; a stitch in time saves nine
• 冥思苦想 to consider from all angles; to think hard; to rack one's brains

Also contained in

皮肉之苦

Word is mentioned most frequently in

Truncated for common words

• 卷二十八 Scroll 28 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 18
• 卷六十七 列傳第二十七 謝靈運 Volume 67 Biographies 27: Xie Lingyun Book of Song 宋書 — count: 16
• 卷三十 Scroll 30 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 13
• 卷二十四 Scroll 24 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 13
• 卷二十 Scroll 20 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 13
• 卷三百三十 列傳第二百十八 西域二 Volume 330 Biographies 218: Western Regions 2 History of Ming 明史 — count: 12
• 卷十八 Scroll 18 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 12
• 卷二十一 志第十一 樂三 Volume 21 Treatises 11: Music 3 Book of Song 宋書 — count: 12
• 卷六十 Scroll 60 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 12
• Scroll 3 Xin Shu 新書 — count: 11

Collocations

• 民苦 (民苦) 故民苦於外 — Mozi 墨子, 卷一 七患 Book 1 - The Seven Worries — count: 6
• 味苦 (味苦) 其味苦 — The Book of Rites 禮記, 《月令》 Proceedings of Government in the Different Months — count: 5
• 功苦 (功苦) 辨功苦 — Guanzi 管子, 立政第四 Chapter 4: Establishing Governance — count: 5
• 苦叶 (苦葉) 匏有苦葉 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 國風‧邶‧匏有苦葉 Lessons from the states - Odes of Bei - Pao You Ku Ye — count: 5
• 苦雨 (苦雨) 秋無苦雨 — The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳, 昭公 Lord Zhao — count: 5
• 苦痛 (苦痛) 私自苦痛 — Huainanzi 淮南子, 卷十二　道應訓 Chapter 12: Responses of the Way — count: 4
• 苦节 (苦節) 苦節不可貞 — Book of Changes 易經, 節 Jie — count: 4
• 苦窳 (苦窳) 東夷之陶者器苦窳 — Han Feizi 韓非子, 難一第三十六 Chapter 36: Difficulties I — count: 3
• 苦身 (苦身) 苦身勞形 — Huainanzi 淮南子, 卷十九　脩務訓 Chapter 19: Cultivation of Effort — count: 3
• 百姓苦 (百姓苦) 百姓苦之 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 國風‧齊‧盧令 Lessons from the states - Odes of Qi - Lu Ling — count: 3