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liánhéSide by side

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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