Definition
刻苦 (kè kǔ) emphasizes enduring hardship (苦 'bitter') as part of one's hard work — used for training or practice that demands sacrifice and perseverance. It implies more suffering than 勤奋 (qín fèn 'diligent'), which just means being consistently hardworking, and is broader than 用功 (yòng gōng 'study hard'), which focuses on academic effort.
adjective
hardworkingassiduousdiligent and persevering
Examples
- 刻苦，。Tā cóngxiǎo jiù hěn kè kǔ, měitiān xuéxí dào hěn wǎn.He has been very hardworking since childhood, studying until late every day.
- 刻苦，。Jīngguò shí nián de kè kǔ xùnliàn, tā zhōngyú chéngwéi le yì míng yōuxiù de yùndòngyuán.After ten years of hard training, he finally became an outstanding athlete.
- 刻苦。Zhè zhǒng kè kǔ zuānyán de jīngshén zhídé wǒmen xuéxí.This spirit of assiduous study is worth learning from.
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