苦 — kanji meaning “suffering”
苦
suffering, trial, worry, hardship, feel bitter, scowl
- Meanings
- suffering, trial, worry, hardship, feel bitter, scowl
- On'yomi
- ク (ku)
- Kun'yomi
- くる.しい、-ぐる.しい、くる.しむ、くる.しめる、にが.い、にが.る
- Strokes
- 8
- School grade
- 3
- JLPT (old scale)
- Level 2
- Newspaper frequency
- #623 of 2,500
- Classical radical
- 140
- Chinese reading
- kǔ — Chinese character page
Words with 苦
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 苦手 | にがて nigate | poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at) |
| 苦労 | くろう kurou | trouble; hardship; difficulty |
| 苦しみ | くるしみ kurushimi | pain; anguish; distress |
| 苦痛 | くつう kutsuu | pain; agony; suffering |
| 苦情 | くじょう kujou | complaint; troubles; objection |
| 苦しい | くるしい kurushii | painful; difficult; tough |
| 苦悩 | くのう kunou | (mental) agony; anguish; suffering |
| 苦い | にがい nigai | bitter (taste) |
| 苦しめる | くるしめる kurushimeru | to torment; to pain; to inflict (physical) pain |
| 苦笑 | くしょう kushou | bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh |
| 苦戦 | くせん kusen | hard fight; close game; struggle |
| 苦しむ | くるしむ kurushimu | to suffer; to groan; to be worried |
Data: KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.