Explore 苦 in words for bitter tastes, difficulties and suffering. Learn each reading with a whole word and a natural sentence.

The idea

苦 has 8 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. Read 苦い（にがい）, 苦手（にがて）, 苦しむ（くるしむ） and 苦労（くろう） as whole words. The table connects each reading to its meaning.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingMeaning
苦いにがいbitter
苦手にがてnot good at; dislike
苦しむくるしむsuffer
苦労くろうhardship; effort

Examples

  • この薬くすりは苦にがいです。This medicine is bitter.
  • 私わたしは泳およぐのが苦手にがてです。I am not good at swimming.
  • 彼かれは病気びょうきに苦くるしんでいます。He is suffering from an illness.
  • 仕事しごとを探さがすのに苦労くろうしました。I had trouble finding a job.
  • 祖母そぼは子こどもを育そだてるのに苦労くろうしました。My grandmother had a hard time raising her children.
  • 私わたしは苦にがいコーヒーを飲のみます。I drink bitter coffee.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

苦い describes a bitter taste; 苦手 describes something one is poor at or dislikes. 苦しむ expresses suffering, while 苦労する describes experiencing hardship or making a difficult effort.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 苦い in hiragana.

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    にがい

    苦い is にがい: この薬は苦いです means this medicine is bitter. Include the final い.

  2. Write the reading of 苦手 in hiragana.

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    にがて

    苦手 is にがて: 泳ぐのが苦手です means one is not good at swimming. Learn the compound as a whole.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿労（くろう）［苦／若］.

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    苦

    苦 completes 苦労（くろう）, hardship or difficult effort. 仕事を探すのに苦労しました describes difficulty finding work.

Use it today

Write 苦 using the diagram. Cover the table, read 苦い and 苦手, then make a sentence with one of them.