TongTong
Sign in

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.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

苦kǔbitter
水shuǐwater

苦 means bitter and 水 means water, giving bitter water and a pent-up grievance.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsEmotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.