苦水 (kǔ shuǐ) — (figurative) deep-seated grievance, pent-up bitterness, suffering; (literal) bitter-tasting water; bile rising to the mouth
Definition
Literally 'bitter water' (e.g. from a well), but 苦水 is mostly used figuratively to mean pent-up bitterness or grievances that someone finally pours out. The literal sense is rare in modern speech.
noun
(figurative) deep-seated grievancepent-up bitternesssuffering(literal) bitter-tasting waterbile rising to the mouth
Examples
- 苦水。Tā hē zuì le jiù kāi shǐ dào kǔ shuǐ.Once he gets drunk, he starts pouring out his grievances.
- 苦水。Zhè kǒu jǐng de kǔ shuǐ gēn běn bù néng hē.The bitter water from this well is completely undrinkable.
- 苦水。Tā xīn lǐ yǒu shuō bù wán de kǔ shuǐ.She has endless bitterness in her heart.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.