辛辛苦苦 (xīn xīn kǔ kǔ) — painstakingly; with great effort

Definition

Reduplication of 辛苦 meaning 'with great toil and hardship' — emphasizes effort over a long stretch. Used as an adverbial before the verb.

bound form

painstakinglywith great effort

Examples

辛辛苦苦，。
Tā xīn xīn kǔ kǔ gōng zuò le sān shí nián, zhōng yú zǎn gòu le qián.
He worked painstakingly for thirty years and finally saved enough money.
辛辛苦苦，。
Fù mǔ xīn xīn kǔ kǔ bǎ wǒ men yǎng dà, wǒ men yào hǎo hǎo bào dá tā men.
Our parents raised us with great effort; we should repay them well.
辛辛苦苦。
Zhè xiē chéng guǒ shì dà jiā xīn xīn kǔ kǔ huàn lái de.
These results were obtained through everyone's hard work.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

辛辛

辛xīnhard辛xīnhard

苦苦

苦kǔpainful苦kǔpainful

The base 辛苦 means painstaking; repeating it as 辛辛苦苦 intensifies the sense of working very hard.

Characters in this word

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

The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.

Open 辛 →

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

The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.

Open 辛 →

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 →

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 →

Grammar

Full explanation →

Appears in

Idioms & Set Phrases

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