Kanji 苦

音読おんよみ:

訓読くんよみ: くるしむ、にが

画数かくすう: 8

部首ぶしゅ: くさかんむり(艹)

Meaning

Suffering / Bitter / Painful

  • Basic forms
  • 苦しむ — to suffer; to struggle; to be in pain / base form
  • 苦しみます — (I) suffer; struggle / masu form
  • 苦しんだ — suffered; struggled / ta form
  • 苦しんで — suffering and …; struggling and … / te-form
  • 苦しまない — do not suffer / negative form
  • 苦しめば — if (someone) suffers / conditional
  • 苦しめ・苦しみなさい — suffer!; endure it! / imperative
  • Other common forms
  • 苦しみたい — want to suffer (metaphorical) / 〜たい form
  • 苦しめる — to cause suffering (transitive) / related form
  • 苦しめられる — be made to suffer / passive
  • More
  • 苦しもう — let’s endure; let’s struggle on / 〜よう form
  • 苦しんでいる — is suffering; is having a hard time / progressive
  • 苦しまなかった — did not suffer / past negative

苦しむ(くるしむ) is a godan verb ending in . Stem alternates as む → み → ん, giving 苦しむ・苦しみます・苦しんで・苦しんだ. Its transitive counterpart is 苦しめる — “to cause someone to suffer.”

  • くるしい — painful; difficult
  • にがい — bitter
  • 苦労くろう — hardship; trouble
  • 苦痛くつう — pain; suffering
  • 苦手にがて — weak point; dislike
  • 苦情くじょう — complaint
  • 四苦八苦しくはっく — struggling desperately; in great distress

苦 combines 艹 (grass) with 古 (old). Originally referring to bitter-tasting herbs, it evolved to represent emotional pain or difficulty as well. It conveys bitterness both in taste and life experience.

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