苦 (kǔ)
bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingl
- HSK 3.1 level 4
- 8 strokes
Etymology
Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 古 represents the sound.
Shuowen Jiezi
《說文》：“苦，大苦，苓也。从艸，古聲。”
Components
- 艹 (meaning) — 艹 is a component form of 艸.
- 古 (sound)