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吃苦头 (chī kǔ tou) — to suffer (the bitter consequences of something, often self-inflicted)

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to suffer (bitter consequences)' — usually self-inflicted by one's own bad choice or mistake, as in the examples where someone pays for ignoring advice or taking shortcuts.

verb
to suffer (the bitter consequences of something, often self-inflicted)

Examples

  • ，吃苦头。
    Tā yīn wèi bù tīng quàn gào, chī le bù shǎo chī kǔ tou.
    He suffered quite a bit because he wouldn't listen to advice.
  • 吃苦头，？
    Nǐ yǐ qián chī guò shén me chī kǔ tou, xiàn zài cái zhè me xiǎo xīn?
    What bitter experience did you have before that makes you so cautious now?
  • ，。
    Qiān wàn bié zǒu jié jìng, bù rán zǎo wǎn yào chī dà kǔ tou.
    Never take shortcuts, or you'll suffer for it sooner or later.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

吃chīeat
苦头bitter consequences
苦kǔbitter头tóuconsequence

吃 means eat or endure and 苦头 means bitter consequences, so together they mean to suffer.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ苦kǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

Open 苦 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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