DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

苦

Mandarin · pinyin kǔ

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

苦: kǔ · bitter; hardship, suffering

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · ku3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link2same-tone records

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.

苦 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fu2

Cantonese word readings for 苦. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

bitter
(alt-of, alternative, name) Alternative name for 荼 (tú, “bitter plant”).
difficult; painful; hard
hardship; suffering
(Buddhism) dukkha
(regional) excessive
(transitive) to cause someone suffering; to give someone a hard time
to suffer from; to be handicapped by
(obsolete or Eastern Min) to worry about; to be concerned about
strenuously; painstakingly

character · Etymology 2

(alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 盬 (gǔ)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack