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吃苦 (chī kǔ) — to bear hardships, to endure suffering

Definition

吃苦 focuses on willingly enduring hardship for growth, often in set phrases like 吃苦耐劳. 比 受苦 more positive and aspirational; 克服 is the act of conquering an obstacle, not enduring over time.

verb
to bear hardshipsto endure suffering

Examples

  • 吃苦。
    Nián qīng rén yīng gāi xué huì chī kǔ.
    Young people should learn to bear hardships.
  • 。
    Tā xiǎo shí hou chī le bù shǎo kǔ.
    He endured a lot of hardship when he was young.
  • 吃苦。
    Zhǐ yǒu chī kǔ cái néng chéng gōng.
    Only by enduring hardships can one succeed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

吃chītake/endure
苦kǔhardship

“吃” suggests taking or enduring, while “苦” denotes hardship, giving the sense of bearing hardship.

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

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