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苦

suffering
Stroke count: 8

Readings

On readingク
Kun readingくる.しい、-ぐる.しい、くる.しむ、くる.しめる、にが.い、にが.る
JLPT level: N3JōyōGrade 3

Meanings

  1. sufferingRtK
    彼は肉体の苦痛と闘わねばならなかった。He had to contend against physical suffering.tatoeba
  2. feel bitter
  3. hardship
    そのため幼少期は非常に苦労した。As a result, he endured great hardship during his young days.wiki
  4. scowl
  5. trial
  6. worry
  1. to suffer
  2. to groan
  3. to be worried

Popular Usage

苦い苦痛苦労苦しい苦しむ苦情苦心苦しめる

Radicals and components

Radical艸grass
Components
How it's built
苦
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

flowers (艹) · old (古) · tombstone · gravestone · church · ten (十) · needle (丨) · mouth (口)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 239

Compound words

苦いにがい
bitter
苦痛くつう
pain; agony; suffering; distress; torment
苦労くろう
trouble; hardship; difficulty; labour; labor
苦しいくるしい
painful; difficult; tough; hard; distressing
苦しむくるしむ
to suffer; to groan; to be worried
苦情くじょう
complaint; troubles; objection; grievance
苦心くしん
pains; hard work; effort; trouble; labour
苦労するくろうする
trouble
苦しめるくるしめる
to torment; to pain; to inflict (physical) pain; to hurt; to harass
苦境くきょう
difficult situation; adverse circumstances; predicament; trouble; dilemma
苦言くげん
candid advice; frank advice; honest opinion; exhortation; harsh but honest advice
苦手にがて
poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at); not one's cup of tea; not one's favorite
苦渋くじゅう
bitterness; distress; pain; anguish; affliction
苦笑くしょう
bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh; sarcastic laugh
苦戦くせん
hard fight; close game; struggle; tight contest
苦難くなん
suffering; distress; hardship; trial
苦悩くのう
(mental) agony; anguish; suffering; distress
苦味にがみ
bitterness; bitter taste
苦慮くりょ
racking one's brains; worrying oneself; being anxious
辛苦しんく
hardship; toil; trouble
病苦びょうく
pain of sickness
苦しみくるしみ
pain; anguish; distress; suffering; hardship
苦笑いにがわらい
bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh
ご苦労様ごくろうさま
thank you (for your hard work); I appreciate your efforts

Kun Reading Examples

この咳止め用トローチは苦味があるがよくきく。にがみ
These cough lozenges taste bitter but they will do you much good.tatoeba

Additional Examples

彼は聞き上手だが話すのは苦手だ。
He is a good listener but a poor speaker.tatoeba
彼は肉体的、精神的苦痛に耐えてきた。
He has endured physical and mental pain.tatoeba
彼は内気で、人前で話す事は苦痛だった。
His shyness made public speaking a torment to him.tatoeba
したがって、寄席全体では苦しい経営が迫られているといえる。
Therefore, it can be said that yose as a whole suffer from difficult conditions in their business.wiki
素直でよく気が付き、堅苦しい所もなく魅力的な性格であった。
He was ductile and bright, and had an attractive character, being far from stiffness.wiki
作中では、同母妹である馬屋古に恋をして苦しむ。
In this story, he fell in love with a younger sister-uterine, Umaya no himemiko and was tormented by love.wiki
淀君は秀次・小西行長・石田三成の怨霊に苦しむ。
Yodogimi suffers from the vengeful ghosts of Hidetsugu, Yukinaga KONISHI, and Mitsunari ISHIDA.wiki
細寒天はこのような苦労が少ない。
Compared with kaku-kanten, hoso-kanten requires less pain in the freezing process.wiki
この翻案は小團次が気に入らず、こう新七に苦情を入れた。
However, Kodanji was not satisfied with this adaptation and complained to Shinshichi as follows.wiki
幼い頃はかなりやんちゃで近所から苦情が来ていたという。
When he was small, he was so mischievous that he drew complaints from his neighbors.wiki
苦心を要したという。
It is said that this was a painstaking process.wiki
彼は苦心してそれを買い戻し父に返してやった。
He managed to buy back the territory and returned it to his father.wiki
政治の横暴が庶民を苦しめる。
The tyrannical politics made peasants to suffer.wiki
雑賀衆　信長をおおいに苦しめるが､後に誓紙を差し出し降伏。
Saiga shu greatly troubled Nobunaga, but later yielded to him by giving him their written oath.wiki

Stroke Order

8 strokes

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 苦

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step