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酸甜苦辣

Mandarin · pinyin suān tián kǔ là

(lit.) sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom)
(fig.) all kinds of flavors; the joys and sorrows of life

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Characters in this entry

酸: suān · tart, sour; acid; stiff; spoiled
甜: tián · sweet, sweetness
苦: kǔ · bitter; hardship, suffering
辣: là · peppery, pungent, hot; cruel

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · suan1 tian2 ku3 la4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

syun1 tim4 fu2 laat6

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) sour, sweet, bitter and spicy; all kinds of flavours
(figurative) the joys and sorrows of life; the sweets and bitters of life

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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