DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

有苦說不出

简有苦说不出 · 繁有苦說不出

Mandarin · pinyin yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū

having unspeakable bitter suffering
(often used after 啞巴吃黃連 yǎ ba chī huáng lián)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
苦: kǔ · bitter; hardship, suffering
說: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
出: chū · go out, send out; stand; produce
说: shuō · speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–3–1–5–1 · you3 ku3 shuo1 bu5 chu1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

有苦說不出 · find source passages ↗ · 有苦说不出 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jau5 fu2 syut3 bat1 ceot1

Cantonese word readings for 有苦說不出. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack