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苦头 (kǔ tou) — (figurative) hardship, suffering, trouble; (literal) bitter taste

Definition

A noun for hardship or bitterness (literal or figurative), almost always used in the set phrase 吃苦头 ('suffer hardship'). The literal 'bitter taste' sense is rare outside this phrase.

noun
(figurative) hardshipsufferingtrouble(literal) bitter taste

Examples

  • ，苦头。
    Dì yī cì chī kǔ guā, wǒ què shí cháng dào le tā de kǔ tou.
    The first time I ate bitter melon, I really tasted its bitterness.
  • ，苦头。
    Tā méi tīng quàn gào, zhōng yú chī le dà kǔ tou.
    He didn't listen to advice and finally suffered greatly.
  • ，苦头。
    Chuàng yè chū qī, wǒ men chī le bù shǎo kǔ tou.
    In the early days of the startup, we suffered a lot of hardship.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

苦kǔbitter
头tóusuffix

苦 gives bitterness, and 头 makes it a thing: hardship or a bitter taste.

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
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
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