How to Write 苦 (kǔ) — Meaning “Bitter / hardship”

Imagine a piece of grass (艹) that tastes very bitter, making you frown. The bottom part 古 looks like a face with eyebrows (the top horizontal line) and a frowning mouth (口). This helps connect the shape to the bitter feeling.

Start with the top radical 艹: two horizontal strokes, then two short vertical strokes. Then write 古: a horizontal stroke, a vertical stroke through the middle, and a narrow 口 (box). A common mistake is making the 口 too wide or not centering the bottom part under the grass.

Unlike 苦, 兹 (zī) has a bottom made of two 幺 (silk) components and means "this" or "now," not bitterness. 艻 (lè) is a rare character for a specific plant and also lacks the 古 component. Only 苦 combines grass with 古 to express the taste of bitterness.

苦 is used to describe bitter taste (苦瓜), hardship (辛苦), and suffering (痛苦). In Chinese culture, "吃苦" (eat bitterness) means to endure hardship, which is seen as a valuable quality. The idiom "苦尽甘来" (bitterness ends, sweetness comes) expresses hope after hard times.

Common words containing 苦 include: 辛苦 (xīn kǔ) — hard; laborious; toilsome.; 苦瓜 (kǔ guā) — Bitter melon; 痛苦 (tòng kǔ) — pain; suffering.