命苦 (mìng kǔ) — to have a hard lot; to be born unlucky

Definition

命苦 paints life as fated to be bitter — more poetic and fatalistic than simply saying life is 'hard'. Use it for someone whose whole life seems unfairly unlucky, not for a single bad event.

adjective
to have a hard lotto be born unlucky

Examples

  • ，命苦。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù méi yǒu fù mǔ, zhēn shì mìng kǔ.
    He never had parents since childhood—truly a hard lot.
  • 命苦，。
    Bié jué de zì jǐ mìng kǔ, hěn duō rén bǐ nǐ gèng bù róng yì.
    Don't think you have a hard lot; many people have it harder than you.
  • 命苦，。
    mìng kǔ De rén, zǒng shì huì yù dào gèng duō de kùn nan.
    People with a hard lot always encounter more difficulties.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

命mìngfate/life
苦kǔbitter

命 is fate or life, and 苦 is bitter, so a fate is described as bitter.

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
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

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 →

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