苦 kǔ
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
- Made of
- 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 古 old, classic, ancient
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
苦涩
kǔsè
bitter and astringent; bitter
Characters in this word
涩 sè
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 氵 — water
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 刚泡好的草药汤带着一股苦涩的味道，却意外地让人觉得清醒。 Gāng pào hǎo de cǎoyào tāng dàizhe yì gǔ kǔsè de wèidào, què yìwài de ràng rén juéde qīngxǐng. The freshly brewed herbal soup had a bitter, astringent taste, yet oddly made one feel clear-headed.
- 没熟的柿子又苦涩又难吃。 Méi shú de shìzi yòu kǔsè yòu nán chī. An unripe persimmon is bitter and unpleasant to eat.
- 想起那段往事，他脸上露出一丝苦涩的笑。 Xiǎngqǐ nà duàn wǎngshì, tā liǎn shang lùchū yì sī kǔsè de xiào. Remembering that past, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
Related words
- 痛苦 tòngkǔ pain; suffering
- 苦 kǔ bitter
- 艰苦 jiānkǔ hard; difficult
- 酸甜苦辣 suāntiánkǔlà life's joys and hardships
- 辛苦 xīnkǔ hard; tiring
- 吃苦 chīkǔ to endure hardship
- 愁眉苦脸 chóuméikǔliǎn to look worried; to pull a long face
- 何苦 hékǔ why bother; why make things hard for oneself
- 刻苦 kèkǔ hard-working; assiduous
- 苦尽甘来 kǔjìngānlái after suffering comes happiness
- 苦难 kǔnàn suffering; hardship
- 苦恼 kǔnǎo distressed; troubled