苦

Meaning(adjective, nominal adjective, adverbial adjective, verb)

bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly

辛苦 = hard work (辛苦了: thanks for your hard work); 吃苦 = to endure hardship.

Examples

• 这药太苦了。

  zhè yào tài kǔ le.

  This medicine is so bitter.

• 他小时候家里很穷，生活很苦。

  tā xiǎo shí hòu jiā lǐ hěn qióng, shēng huó hěn kǔ.

  His family was poor when he was young, and life was hard.

• 工人们一天工作十个小时，真辛苦。

  gōng rén men yì tiān gōng zuò shí gè xiǎo shí, zhēn xīn kǔ.

  The workers put in ten hours a day—it's tough.

Written with AI, waiting for a teacher's review.