| 苦 | [ kǔ ] bitter, hardship, pain, to suffer, to bring suffering to, painstakingly |
| 苦不唧 | [ kǔ bu jī ] slightly bitter |
| 苦不唧兒 | [ kǔ bu jī ] erhua variant of 苦不唧[ku3 bu5 ji1] |
| 苦不堪言 | [ kǔ bù kān yán ] to suffer unspeakable misery, indescribably painful, hellish |
| 苦中作樂 | [ kǔ zhōng zuò lè ] to find joy in sorrows (idiom); to enjoy sth in spite of one's suffering |
| 苦主 | [ kǔ zhǔ ] victim's family (esp. in murder case) |
| 苦事 | [ kǔ shì ] hard job, arduous task |
| 苦刑 | [ kǔ xíng ] torture, corporal punishment (traditionally involving mutilation or amputation) |
| 苦力 | [ kǔ lì ] bitter work, hard toil, (loanword) coolie, unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times |
| 苦功 | [ kǔ gōng ] hard work, laborious effort, painstaking work |
| 苦勞 | [ kǔ laó ] toil, hard work |
| 苦參 | [ kǔ shēn ] liquorice (Sophora flavescens), with roots used in TCM |
| 苦口 | [ kǔ koǔ ] lit. bitter taste (cf good medicine tastes bitter 良藥苦口|良药苦口), fig. earnestly (of warning, advice) |
| 苦口婆心 | [ kǔ koǔ pó xīn ] earnest and well-meaning advice (idiom); to persuade patiently |
| 苦味 | [ kǔ weì ] bitter taste, bitterness |
| 苦命 | [ kǔ mìng ] hard lot, bitter fate, unfortunate |
| 苦哈哈 | [ kǔ hā hā ] to have difficulty getting by, to struggle (financially etc) |
| 苦因 | [ kǔ yīn ] affliction |
| 苦境 | [ kǔ jìng ] grievance, dire straits |
| 苦大仇深 | [ kǔ dà choú shēn ] great bitterness, deep hatred (idiom); deeply ingrained long-standing resentment |
| 苦寒 | [ kǔ hán ] bitter cold |
| 苦工 | [ kǔ gōng ] hard labor (in penal code), coolie |
| 苦差 | [ kǔ chaī ] hard task, difficult mission, arduous and unrewarding undertaking, drudgery, grind, chore |
| 苦差事 | [ kǔ chaī shi ] see 苦差[ku3 chai1] |
| 苦幹 | [ kǔ gàn ] to work hard |
| 苦役 | [ kǔ yì ] forced labor, corvée, penal servitude |
| 苦待 | [ kǔ daì ] treat harshly |
| 苦心 | [ kǔ xīn ] painstaking effort, to take a lot of trouble, laborious at pains |
| 苦心孤詣 | [ kǔ xīn gū yì ] to make painstaking efforts (idiom); after much trouble, to work hard at sth |
| 苦心經營 | [ kǔ xīn jīng yíng ] to build up an enterprise through painstaking efforts |
| 苦思 | [ kǔ sī ] to think hard, bitter thoughts, to pour out one's sufferings |
| 苦思冥想 | [ kǔ sī míng xiǎng ] to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard, to rack one's brains |
| 苦悶 | [ kǔ mèn ] depressed, dejected, feeling low |
| 苦情 | [ kǔ qíng ] wretched situation, plight, wretched, miserable |
| 苦惱 | [ kǔ naǒ ] vexed, distressed |
| 苦戰 | [ kǔ zhàn ] bitter struggle, hard battle, arduous effort |
| 苦於 | [ kǔ yú ] to suffer from (a disadvantage) |
| 苦日子 | [ kǔ rì zi ] hard times |
| 苦杏仁苷 | [ kǔ xìng rén gān ] amygdalin |
| 苦果 | [ kǔ guǒ ] lit. bitter fruit, fig. painful consequence |
| 苦根 | [ kǔ gēn ] underlying cause of poverty |
| 苦楚 | [ kǔ chǔ ] suffering, misery, pain (esp. psychological) |
| 苦楝 | [ kǔ liàn ] chinaberry (Melia azedarach) |
| 苦水 | [ kǔ shuǐ ] bitter water (e.g. mineral water containing sulfates), suffering, digestive fluids rising from stomach to the mouth, fig. bitter complaint |
| 苦況 | [ kǔ kuàng ] wretched state, miserable plight |
| 苦活 | [ kǔ huó ] bitter work, sweated labor |
| 苦活兒 | [ kǔ huó ] erhua variant of 苦活[ku3 huo2] |
| 苦海 | [ kǔ haǐ ] lit. sea of bitterness, abyss of worldly suffering (Buddhist term), depths of misery |
| 苦海無邊，回頭是岸 | [ kǔ haǐ wú biān huí toú shì àn ] The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore (idiom). Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering., Repent and ye shall be saved! |
| 苦海茫茫 | [ kǔ haǐ máng máng ] sea of bitterness is vast (idiom) |
| 苦澀 | [ kǔ sè ] bitter and astringent, pained, agonized |
| 苦熬 | [ kǔ aó ] to endure (years of suffering) |
| 苦瓜 | [ kǔ guā ] bitter melon (bitter gourd, balsam pear, balsam apple, leprosy gourd, bitter cucumber) |
| 苦瓜臉 | [ kǔ guā liǎn ] sour expression on one's face |
| 苦甘 | [ kǔ gān ] bitter sweet |
| 苦痛 | [ kǔ tòng ] pain, suffering |
| 苦盡甘來 | [ kǔ jìn gān laí ] bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom); the hard times are over, the good times just beginning |
| 苦窯 | [ kǔ yaó ] (slang) prison |
| 苦竹 | [ kǔ zhú ] bitter bamboo (Pleioblastus amarus) |
| 苦笑 | [ kǔ ] to force a smile, a bitter laugh |
| 苦練 | [ kǔ liàn ] to train hard, to practice diligently, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears |
| 苦肉計 | [ kǔ roù jì ] the trick of injuring oneself to gain the enemy's confidence, CL:條|条[tiao2] |
| 苦膽 | [ kǔ dǎn ] gall bladder |
| 苦艾 | [ kǔ aì ] wormwood, Artemisia absinthium |
| 苦艾酒 | [ kǔ aì jiǔ ] absinthe (distilled anise-based liquor) |
| 苦苓 | [ kǔ líng ] chinaberry (Melia azedarach) |
| 苦苣 | [ kǔ jù ] endive |
| 苦苦 | [ kǔ kǔ ] strenuously, persistently, hard, painful |
| 苦苦哀求 | [ kǔ kǔ aī qiú ] to entreat piteously, to implore |
| 苦菊 | [ kǔ jú ] endive |
| 苦菜花 | [ kǔ caì huā ] Bitter Cauliflower, 1954 socialist realist novel by Feng Deying 馮德英|冯德英[Feng2 De2 ying1] loosely based on Maxim Gorky's Mother, made into a 1967 film by Li Ang |
| 苦蕒菜 | [ kǔ maǐ caì ] Ixeris denticulata |
| 苦蘵 | [ kǔ zhí ] cutleaf ground-cherry, Physalis angulata |
| 苦處 | [ kǔ chu ] suffering, distress |
| 苦行 | [ kǔ xíng ] ascetic practice |
| 苦行贖罪 | [ kǔ xíng shú zuì ] penance (to atone for a sin) |
| 苦衷 | [ kǔ zhōng ] secret trouble, sorrow, difficulties |
| 苦諫 | [ kǔ jiàn ] to admonish strenuously |
| 苦趣 | [ kǔ qù ] wretched feelings (opposite: 樂趣|乐趣, delight) |
| 苦迭打 | [ kǔ dié dǎ ] coup d'état (loanword) |
| 苦集滅道 | [ kǔ jí miè daò ] the Four Noble Truths (Budd.), namely: all life is suffering 苦[ku3], the cause of suffering is desire 集[ji2], emancipation comes only by eliminating passions 滅|灭[mie4], the way 道[dao4] to emancipation is the Eight-fold Noble Way 八正道[ba1 zheng4 dao4], also called 四諦|四谛[si4 di4] |
| 苦難 | [ kǔ nàn ] suffering |
| 苦難深重 | [ kǔ nàn shēn zhòng ] deep grief, extensive sorrow |
| 苦頭 | [ kǔ tou ] sufferings |
| ⇒ 不勝其苦 | [ bù shèng qí kǔ ] unable to bear the pain (idiom) |
| ⇒ 不辭勞苦 | [ bù cí laó kǔ ] to spare no effort |
| ⇒ 不辭辛苦 | [ bù cí xīn kǔ ] to make nothing of hardships |
| ⇒ 二遍苦 | [ èr biàn kǔ ] second persecution |
| ⇒ 何苦 | [ hé kǔ ] why bother?, is it worth the trouble? |
| ⇒ 倒懸之苦 | [ daò xuán zhī kǔ ] lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation, dire straits |
| ⇒ 倒苦水 | [ daò kǔ shuǐ ] to pour out one's grievances |
| ⇒ 備嘗辛苦 | [ beì cháng xīn kǔ ] to have suffered all kinds of hardships (idiom) |
| ⇒ 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 ] to treat (sb) unjustly, anguish caused by an injustice |
| ⇒ 冥思苦想 | [ míng sī kǔ xiǎng ] to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard, to rack one's brains |
| ⇒ 冥思苦索 | [ míng sī kǔ suǒ ] to mull over (idiom), to think long and hard |
| ⇒ 刻苦 | [ kè kǔ ] hardworking, assiduous |
| ⇒ 刻苦努力 | [ kè kǔ nǔ lì ] assiduous, taking great pains |
| ⇒ 刻苦學習 | [ kè kǔ xué xí ] to study hard, assiduous |
| ⇒ 刻苦耐勞 | [ kè kǔ naì laó ] to bear hardships and work hard (idiom); assiduous and long-suffering, hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity |
| ⇒ 刻苦鑽研 | [ kè kǔ zuān yán ] to study diligently |
| ⇒ 勞心苦思 | [ laó xīn kǔ sī ] to rack one's brains, to think hard |
| ⇒ 勞苦 | [ laó kǔ ] to toil, hard work |
| ⇒ 勤奮刻苦 | [ qín fèn kè kǔ ] diligent, assiduous |
| ⇒ 勤學苦練 | [ qín xué kǔ liàn ] to study diligently, to train assiduously |
| ⇒ 勤苦 | [ qín kǔ ] hardworking, assiduous |
| ⇒ 千辛萬苦 | [ qiān xīn wàn kǔ ] to suffer untold hardships (idiom); trials and tribulations, with difficulty, after some effort |
| ⇒ 受苦 | [ shoù kǔ ] to suffer hardship |
| ⇒ 叫苦 | [ kǔ ] to whine about hardships, to complain of one's bitter lot, to complain, to grumble |
| ⇒ 叫苦不迭 | [ kǔ bu dié ] to complain without stopping (idiom); to bitch endlessly, incessant grievances |
| ⇒ 叫苦連天 | [ kǔ lián tiān ] to whine on for days (idiom), to endlessly grumble complaints, incessant whining |
| ⇒ 吃得苦中苦，方為人上人 | [ chī dé kǔ zhōng kǔ fāng weí rén shàng rén ] one cannot achieve glory and wealth without having been through trials and tribulations (proverb), no pain, no gain |
| ⇒ 吃得苦中苦，方為人上人 | [ chī dé kǔ zhōng kǔ fāng weí rén shàng rén ] one cannot achieve glory and wealth without having been through trials and tribulations (proverb), no pain, no gain |
| ⇒ 吃苦 | [ chī kǔ ] to bear hardships |
| ⇒ 吃苦耐勞 | [ chī kǔ naì laó ] hardworking and enduring hardships (idiom) |
| ⇒ 吃苦頭 | [ chī kǔ tou ] to suffer, to suffer for one's actions, to pay dearly, to burn one's fingers |
| ⇒ 同甘共苦 | [ tóng gān gòng kǔ ] shared delights and common hardships (idiom); to share life's joys and sorrows, for better or for worse |
| ⇒ 同甘苦 | [ tóng gān kǔ ] to share joys and sorrows, sharing good times and hard times, same as 同甘共苦 |
| ⇒ 吐苦水 | [ tǔ kǔ shuǐ ] to have bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth, fig. to complain bitterly, to pour out one's sufferings |
| ⇒ 含辛茹苦 | [ hán xīn rú kǔ ] to suffer every possible torment (idiom); bitter hardship, to bear one's cross |
| ⇒ 命苦 | [ mìng kǔ ] to be born under an ill star |
| ⇒ 啞巴吃黃連，有苦說不出 | [ yǎ ba chī huáng lián yoǔ kǔ shuō bu chū ] to be forced to suffer in silence (idiom), unable to speak of one's bitter suffering, sometimes written 啞子吃黃連，有苦說不出|哑子吃黄连，有苦说不出 |
| ⇒ 嘴甜心苦 | [ zuǐ tián xīn kǔ ] sweet mouth, bitter heart (idiom); insincere flattery |
| ⇒ 困苦 | [ kùn kǔ ] deprivation, distressed, miserable |
| ⇒ 埋頭苦幹 | [ maí toú kǔ gàn ] to bury oneself in work (idiom); to be engrossed in work, to make an all-out effort, up to the neck in work |
| ⇒ 堅苦卓絕 | [ jiān kǔ zhuó jué ] persisting despite trials and tribulations (idiom); conspicuous determination |
| ⇒ 孤苦伶仃 | [ gū kǔ líng dīng ] solitary and impoverished (idiom) |
| ⇒ 孤苦零丁 | [ gū kǔ líng dīng ] variant of 孤苦伶仃[gu1 ku3 ling2 ding1] |
| ⇒ 學習刻苦 | [ xué xí kè kǔ ] to study hard, assiduous |
| ⇒ 小洞不堵，大洞受苦 | [ dòng bù dǔ dà dòng shoù kǔ ] A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom); A stitch in time saves nine. |
| ⇒ 小洞不堵，大洞吃苦 | [ dòng bù dǔ dà dòng chī kǔ ] a small hole not plugged will give you grief when it gets bigger (idiom), a stitch in time saves nine |
| ⇒ 小洞不補大洞吃苦 | [ dòng bù bǔ dà dòng chī kǔ ] A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom); a stitch in time saves nine |
| ⇒ 悲苦 | [ beī kǔ ] forlorn, miserable |
| ⇒ 悽苦 | [ qī kǔ ] bleak, miserable |
| ⇒ 愁眉苦臉 | [ choú meí kǔ liǎn ] to look anxious (idiom), to look miserable |
| ⇒ 愁苦 | [ choú kǔ ] anxiety, distress |
| ⇒ 愛別離苦 | [ aì bié lí kǔ ] (Buddhism) the pain of parting with what (or whom) one loves, one of the eight distresses 八苦[ba1 ku3] |
| ⇒ 憂苦以終 | [ yoū kǔ yǐ zhōng ] worried to death (idiom) |
| ⇒ 憶苦思甜 | [ yì kǔ sī tián ] to view one's past as miserable and one's present as happy (idiom) |
| ⇒ 憶苦飯 | [ yì kǔ fàn ] unsavory meal taken in remembrance of past hardships, fig. poor-tasting meal |
| ⇒ 挖苦 | [ wā kǔ ] to speak sarcastically, to make cutting remarks, also pr. [wa1 ku5] |
| ⇒ 有苦說不出 | [ yoǔ kǔ shuō bu chū ] having unspeakable bitter suffering, (often used after 啞巴吃黃連|哑巴吃黄连[ya3 ba5 chi1 huang2 lian2]) |
| ⇒ 氯化苦 | [ lǜ huà kǔ ] chloropicrin |
| ⇒ 浴血苦戰 | [ yù xuè kǔ zhàn ] a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle (idiom) |
| ⇒ 淒風苦雨 | [ qī fēng kǔ yǔ ] lit. bleak wind and icy rain (idiom), fig. hardships, miserable circumstances |
| ⇒ 清苦 | [ qīng kǔ ] destitute but honest, poor and simple, spartan, austere |
| ⇒ 煞費苦心 | [ shà feì kǔ xīn ] to take a lot of trouble (idiom); painstaking, at the cost of a lot of effort |
| ⇒ 甘苦 | [ gān kǔ ] good times and hardships, joys and tribulations, for better or for worse |
| ⇒ 用心良苦 | [ yòng xīn liáng kǔ ] to ponder earnestly, to give a lot of thought to sth |
| ⇒ 疾苦 | [ jí kǔ ] pain and difficulties, suffering (of the people) |
| ⇒ 病苦 | [ bìng kǔ ] pains (of illness), sufferings (esp. in Buddhism) |
| ⇒ 痛苦 | [ tòng kǔ ] pain, suffering, painful, CL:個|个[ge4] |
| ⇒ 白胸苦惡鳥 | [ baí xiōng kǔ è ] (bird species of China) white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) |
| ⇒ 皇天不負苦心人 | [ huáng tiān bù fù kǔ xīn rén ] Heaven will not disappoint the person who tries (idiom). If you try hard, you're bound to succeed eventually. |
| ⇒ 皮肉之苦 | [ pí roù zhī kǔ ] physical pain, lit. skin and flesh suffer |
| ⇒ 矮腳苦蒿 | [ aǐ kǔ haō ] see 熊膽草|熊胆草[xiong2 dan3 cao3] |
| ⇒ 秘魯苦蘵 | [ bì lǔ kǔ zhí ] Peruvian ground-cherry, cape gooseberry, Physalis peruviana |
| ⇒ 窮思苦想 | [ qióng sī kǔ xiǎng ] to think hard (idiom), to give sth much thought |
| ⇒ 窮苦 | [ qióng kǔ ] impoverished, destitute |
| ⇒ 紅腳苦惡鳥 | [ hóng kǔ è ] (bird species of China) brown crake (Amaurornis akool) |
| ⇒ 脫離苦海 | [ tuō lí kǔ haǐ ] to escape from the abyss of suffering, to shed off a wretched plight |
| ⇒ 自找苦吃 | [ zì zhaǒ kǔ chī ] to bring trouble on oneself |
| ⇒ 自討苦吃 | [ zì taǒ kǔ chī ] to ask for trouble (idiom), to make a rod for one's own back |
| ⇒ 自食苦果 | [ zì shí kǔ guǒ ] see 自食惡果|自食恶果[zi4 shi2 e4 guo3] |
| ⇒ 良工心苦 | [ liáng gōng xīn kǔ ] expert craft from hard practice (idiom); hard-won skill, A masterpiece demands suffering. |
| ⇒ 良苦用心 | [ liáng kǔ yòng xīn ] to ponder earnestly, to give a lot of thought to sth |
| ⇒ 良藥苦口 | [ liáng yaò kǔ koǔ ] good medicine tastes bitter (idiom); fig. frank criticism is hard to swallow |
| ⇒ 艱苦 | [ jiān kǔ ] difficult, hard, arduous |
| ⇒ 艱苦奮鬥 | [ jiān kǔ fèn doù ] to struggle arduously |
| ⇒ 艱苦樸素 | [ jiān kǔ pǔ sù ] leading a plain, hardworking life (idiom) |
| ⇒ 苦苦 | [ kǔ kǔ ] strenuously, persistently, hard, painful |
| ⇒ 苦苦哀求 | [ kǔ kǔ aī qiú ] to entreat piteously, to implore |
| ⇒ 茹苦含辛 | [ rú kǔ hán xīn ] bitter hardship, to bear one's cross |
| ⇒ 萬分痛苦 | [ wàn fēn tòng kǔ ] excruciating |
| ⇒ 裝窮叫苦 | [ zhuāng qióng kǔ ] to feign and complain bitterly of being poverty stricken (idiom) |
| ⇒ 訪貧問苦 | [ fǎng pín wèn kǔ ] to visit the poor and ask about their suffering (idiom) |
| ⇒ 訴苦 | [ sù kǔ ] to grumble, to complain, grievance |
| ⇒ 變苦 | [ biàn kǔ ] to sour, to turn sour, to curdle |
| ⇒ 貧苦 | [ pín kǔ ] poverty-stricken, poor |
| ⇒ 賣苦力 | [ maì kǔ lì ] to make a hard living as unskilled laborer |
| ⇒ 蹲苦窯 | [ dūn kǔ yaó ] (slang) to be behind bars |
| ⇒ 辛苦 | [ xīn kǔ ] exhausting, hard, tough, arduous, to work hard, to go to a lot of trouble, hardship(s) |
| ⇒ 辛辛苦苦 | [ xīn xīn kǔ kǔ ] painstakingly, with great trouble |
| ⇒ 辛辛苦苦 | [ xīn xīn kǔ kǔ ] painstakingly, with great trouble |
| ⇒ 酸甜苦辣 | [ suān tián kǔ là ] sour, sweet, bitter and spicy hot, fig. the joys and sorrows of life |
| ⇒ 離苦得樂 | [ lí kǔ dé lè ] to abandon suffering and obtain happiness (Buddhism) |
