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艰苦 (jiān kǔ) — arduous, tough, hard (of conditions, life, work)

Definition

艰苦 (jiānkǔ) stresses long, harsh conditions — 'arduous, tough' — stronger than 辛苦 (exhausting, brief effort) and more about endurance than 困难 (a difficulty/obstacle).

adjective
arduoustoughhard (of conditions, life, work)

Examples

  • 艰苦，。
    Suī rán tiáo jiàn hěn jiān kǔ, dàn tā men jiān chí xià lái le.
    Although the conditions are tough, they persevered.
  • 艰苦。
    Zhè shì yí fèn fēi cháng jiān kǔ de gōng zuò.
    This is a very arduous job.
  • 艰苦，。
    Jīng guò jiān kǔ de xùn liàn, tā zhōng yú chéng gōng le.
    After tough training, he finally succeeded.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

艰jiānhard
苦kǔbitter

艰 (hard) and 苦 (bitter) join to describe tough, arduous conditions.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 艱; 艰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𦰩𦰩𦰩
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn艱jiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 艱 pairs 𦰩 for meaning with 艮 for sound; the simplified 艰 is a later abbreviation.

Open 艰 →

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 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Good & Bad

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