HSK 4 · HSK VOCABULARY

苦

kǔ

bitter

Character structure: 形
HSK: 4
Related HSK words: 1441
HSK vocabulary: —

01 · MEANING

苦

苦 (kǔ) is an HSK 4 Chinese word. Its most common English meaning is bitter; depending on context, it can also mean hardship or pain. Read the examples below to choose the meaning that fits the sentence.

01bitter

02hardship

03pain

04to suffer

02 · EXAMPLES

苦

苦尽甘来。Kǔ jìn gān lái。

No pain, no gain.

你现在感到痛苦吗？Nǐ xiàn zài gǎn dào tòng kǔ ma？

Are you in pain now?

我无法忍受这个痛苦。Wǒ wú fǎ rěn shòu zhè ge tòng kǔ。

I can't bear the pain.

04 · QUICK CHECK

Quick check

苦

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CHARACTERS IN THIS WORD

Characters in this word

苦Chinese character