The character 苦 — “bitter”: how to write it and what it means
bitter; hard
The Chinese character 苦 is read kǔ and means “bitter; hard”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 苦
苦 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 苦, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 苦 is made of
On top, 艹 “grass” — a bitter herb; at the bottom, 古 gǔ hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 苦
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 苦?
苦 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 苦 mean?
苦 means “bitter; hard”. It appears in 辛苦 (“work hard”), 痛苦 (“painful”), 艰苦 (“hard”), 酸甜苦辣 (“joys and sorrows”).
How do you pronounce 苦?
苦 is read kǔ. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 苦 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 苦 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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