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苦涩 (kǔ sè) — bitter and astringent (in taste); bitter, painful, agonizing (in emotion or experience)

Definition

苦涩 pairs a physical taste (bitter + astringent) with the emotional sense of painful, restrained feeling. 苦 covers both senses too, but 苦涩 leans more toward the inner emotional 'bitterness' — a sad smile, painful memories.

adjective
bitter and astringent (in taste)bitterpainfulagonizing (in emotion or experience)

Examples

  • 苦涩。
    Zhè zhǒng cǎo yào de wèi dào hěn kǔ sè.
    This kind of herbal medicine has a very bitter and astringent taste.
  • 苦涩，。
    Shuō qǐ nà duàn kǔ sè de wǎng shì, tā rěn bú zhù liú xià le yǎn lèi.
    Speaking of those painful memories, he couldn't help but shed tears.
  • 苦涩，。
    Tā liǎn shàng dài zhe kǔ sè de wēi xiào, shén me dōu méi yǒu shuō.
    There was a bitter smile on her face, and she said nothing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

苦kǔbitter
涩sèastringent

苦 means 'bitter' and 涩 means 'astringent', together describing a rough, bitter taste or a pained feeling.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 澀; 涩 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 澀 is the historical shape being explained; a water-related part was added to it later. The simplified 涩 is only a shorthand.

Open 涩 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Flavors & SeasoningsEmotions & Feelings

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