One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.

Share this page

Kanji Detail for 苦 - "suffering, bitter"

苦

  • Meaning

    苦 means "suffering, bitter." Also associated with effort.

    1. Suffering - Pain; hardship; distress.

    2. Bitter - Having a sharp, unpleasant taste.

    3. Effort - Toiling; striving hard.

  • Words using 苦

    • 苦情 くじょう Listen complaint; troubles; objection
    • 苦手 にがて Listen poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at)
    • 苦しみ くるしみ Listen pain; anguish; distress
    • 苦悩 くのう Listen (mental) agony; anguish; suffering
    • 苦戦 くせん Listen hard fight; close game; struggle
    • 苦い にがい Listen bitter
    • 苦痛 くつう Listen pain; agony; suffering
    • 苦慮 くりょ Listen racking one's brains; worrying oneself; being anxious

  • Four-character idioms with 苦

    • 四苦八苦 しくはっく Listen being in dire distress; being hard put to it; being hard pressed (for money)
    • 悪戦苦闘 あくせんくとう Listen hard fighting; hard struggle; fighting against heavy odds
    • 無茶苦茶 むちゃくちゃ Listen nonsensical; unreasonable; absurd
    • 七難八苦 しちなんはっく Listen the Seven Misfortunes and Eight Pains; a series of disasters
    • 五陰盛苦 ごおんじょうく Listen pain caused by the five skandhas
    • 刻苦勉励 こっくべんれい Listen being arduous; working diligently enduring hardships

  • Tattoo check: 苦

    • Verified meaning: suffering, bitter
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Also carries these associations: effort
    • Traditionally considered inauspicious in names — Japanese readers may find it an unlucky choice. Check the meanings above carefully before using it on skin.

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    suffering; trial; worry; hardship; feel bitter; scowl

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    bitter; hardship, suffering

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    bitter; hardship, suffering

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    One of the five flavors. Astringent and unpleasant to the taste. Such as the taste of Coptis chinensis in medicine is most notable. Anciently often contrasted with sweet. | Hardship. Such as 辛苦 (hard work), 苦工 (hard labor). All things hard to endure are called 苦. Such as 苦況 (bitter situation), 苦境 (bitter circumstances). Calling someone inexperienced is 不知甘苦 (not knowing sweet and bitter). | To suffer. Being oppressed by external circumstances and unable to be at ease. Such as 苦寒 (suffer from cold), 苦熱 (suffer from heat). | Not taking it easy. Such as 刻苦 (diligent), 攻苦 (study hard), 苦心孤詣 (painstaking effort) and such. | The meaning of repeatedly. Such as saying 苦口 (earnest advice), 苦求 (plead repeatedly).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ku(ク) ク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    guru.shii(ぐる-しい) ぐる-しい

    kuru.shii(くる-しい) くる-しい

    kuru.shimeru(くる-しめる) くる-しめる

    kurushi.mu(くる-しむ) くる-しむ

    niga.ru(にが-る) にが-る

    nigai(にが-い) にが-い

  • Strokes

    tip

    8 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    艸 艹 (kusa・kusakammuri・soko)

  • Related Keywords

    suffering bitter effort difficult painful hardworking severe hardship adversity affliction agony anguish distress misery struggle toil torment trouble

Sentences including 苦

  • He is weak in english.

  • He was hard put to find out an explanation.

  • I had some trouble in finding his house.

  • He makes nothing of getting up early in the morning.

  • He was in pain.

  • They were badly off in the village.

  • What's worrying you?

  • I am poor at swimming.

  • We cannot sleep well on summer nights.

  • To live is to suffer.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 艸 艹 (kusa・kusakammuri・soko)

See all kanji with this radical →

Share This Page

Share this link via

Or copy link