苦 kǔ
-
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) -
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') -
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) -
kǔ
verb
to train; to practice
Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
Notes: In the sense of 磨鍊 (Guoyu '苦' v 2) -
kǔ
verb
to suffer from a misfortune
Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
Notes: In the sense of 患 (Guoyu '苦' v 3) -
kǔ
adjective
bitter
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Food and Drink
Notes: (Guoyu '苦' adj 1; Unihan '苦') -
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) -
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) -
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) -
kǔ
adjective
painful
Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
Notes: In the sense of 痛 (Han Dian '苦' adj 4)
Contained in
- 苦涩(苦澀) bitter and astringent; pained; agonized
- 苦不唧 slightly bitter
- 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
- 何苦 why bother?; is it worth the trouble?
- 苦心经营(苦心經營) to build up an enterprise through painstaking efforts
- 含辛茹苦 to suffer every possible torment; bitter hardship; to bear one's cross
- 苦恼(苦惱) distress; vexation
- 苦精 bitters
- 苦厄 suffering
- 苦苓 chinaberry (Melia azedarach)
- 倒苦水 to pour out one's grievances
- 苦不堪言 to suffer unspeakable misery; indescribably painful; hellish
- 苦战(苦戰) bitter struggle; hard battle; arduous effort
- 艰苦朴素(艱苦樸素) leading a plain, hardworking life
- 苦境 grievance; dire straits
- 苦思 to think hard; bitter thoughts; to pour out one's sufferings
- 痛苦 pain; suffering
- 苦口 a bitter taste ; persistent nagging
- 苦竹 bitter bamboo
- 苦不唧儿(苦不唧兒) slightly bitter
- 冥思苦想 to consider from all angles; to think hard; to rack one's brains
- 家贫命苦(家貧命苦) a poor family and a life of bad luck
- 良工心苦 expert craft from hard practice; hard-won skill; A masterpiece demands suffering.
- 自讨苦吃(自討苦吃) to ask for trouble; to make a rod for one's own back
- 捱苦 to endure difficulties
- 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.
- 苦主 victim's family
- 苦海茫茫 sea of bitterness is vast
- 苦心 painstaking effort; to take a lot of trouble; laborious at pains
- 苦雨淒风(苦雨淒風) bitter rain and a frigid wind
- 痛疾哀苦 pain and illness, sorrow and suffering
- 辛苦 hard; exhausting ; to work diligently ; to suffer hardship ; to trouble someone [polite]
- 哀哀痛苦 bitter grief and pain
- 苦役 forced labor; corvée; penal servitude
- 刻苦钻研(刻苦鑽研) to study diligently
- 苦练(苦練) to train hard; to practice diligently; hard work; blood, sweat, and tears
- 苦命 bitter fate
- 挖苦 to speak sarcastically; to make cutting remarks
- 孤苦无依(孤苦無依) lonely, poor, and without anybody to depend upon
- 用心良苦 to ponder earnestly; to give a lot of thought to sth
- 忧苦(憂苦) to be worried and suffering
- 苦哈哈 to have difficulty getting by; to struggle (financially etc)
- 苦劳(苦勞) toil; hard work
- 诉苦(訴苦) to grumble; to complain; grievance
- 酸甜苦辣 sour, sweet, bitter and spicy hot; the joys and sorrows of life
- 苦情 wretched situation; plight; wretched; miserable
- 叫苦 to whine about hardships; to complain of one's bitter lot; to complain; to grumble
- 苦寒 bitter cold
- 悲苦 forlorn; miserable
- 吃苦耐劳(吃苦耐勞) hardworking and enduring hardships
Also contained in
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
- 卷二十 Scroll 20 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 13
- 卷三十 Scroll 30 Wenxuan 文選 — count: 13
- 卷二十四 Scroll 24 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
- 卷六十 Scroll 60 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
- Daode Jing 《道德經》 Daode Jing 道德經 — 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
- 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
- 功苦 (功苦) 辨功苦 — Guanzi 管子, 立政第四 Chapter 4: Establishing Governance — count: 5
- 味苦 (味苦) 其味苦 — The Book of Rites 禮記, 《月令》 Proceedings of Government in the Different Months — 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
- 用力苦 (用力苦) 用力苦則勞 — Guanzi 管子, 版法第七 Chapter 7: Ban Fa — 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
- 苦成 (苦成) 衛侯饗苦成叔 — The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳, 成公 Lord Cheng — count: 3