| 不辞辛苦 | bù cí xīn kǔ | make nothing of hardships |
| 二遍苦 | èr biàn kǔ | second persecution |
| 何苦呢 | hé kǔ ne | why bother?; is it worth the trouble? |
| 倒悬之苦 | dào xuán zhī kǔ | lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation; dire straits |
| 倒苦水 | dào kǔ shuǐ | to pour out one's grievances |
| 八苦 | bā kǔ | the eight distresses - birth, age, sickness, death, parting with what we love, meeting with what we hate, unattained aims, and all the ills of the five skandhas (Buddhism) |
| 冤苦 | yuān kǔ | suffering from injustice |
| 冥思苦想 | míng sī kǔ xiǎng | to consider from all angles (idiom); to think hard; to rack one's brains |
| 冥思苦索 | míng sī kǔ suǒ | to rack one’s innermost brains (idiom) |
| 凄苦 | qī kǔ | bleak; miserable |
| 凄风苦雨 | qī fēng kǔ yǔ | lit. mourning the wind and bewailing the rain; fig. in a wretched plight; miserable circumstances |
| 刻苦努力 | kè kǔ nǔ lì | assiduous; taking great pains |
| 刻苦学习 | kè kǔ xué xí | to study hard; assiduous |
| 刻苦耐劳 | kè kǔ nài láo | to bear hardships and work hard (idiom); assiduous and long-suffering; hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity |
| 刻苦钻研 | kè kǔ zuān yán | to study diligently |
| 劳心苦思 | láo xīn kǔ sī | to rack one's brains; to think hard |
| 勤奋刻苦 | qín fèn kè kǔ | diligent; assiduous |
| 勤学苦练 | qín xué kǔ liàn | to study diligent; to train assiduously |
| 勤苦 | qín kǔ | hardworking; assiduous |
| 叫苦不迭 | jiào kǔ bu dié | to complain without stopping (idiom); to bitch endlessly; incessant grievances |
| 叫苦连天 | jiào kǔ lián tiān | to whine on for days (idiom); to endlessly grumble complaints; incessant whining |
| 吃苦头 | chī kǔ tou | to suffer; to suffer for one's actions; to pay dearly; to burn one's fingers |
| 同甘苦 | tóng gān kǔ | to share joys and sorrows; sharing good times and hard times; same as 同甘共苦 |
| 吐苦水 | tǔ kǔ shuǐ | to have bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth; fig. to complain bitterly; to pour out one's sufferings |
| 含辛茹苦 | hán xīn rú kǔ | to suffer every possible torment (idiom); bitter hardship; to bear one's cross |
哑巴吃黄连，
有苦说不出 | yǎ ba chī huáng lián ,
yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū | to be forced to suffer in silence; unable to speak of one's bitter suffering; sometimes written 啞子吃黃連,哑子吃黄连,有苦说不出 |
| 嘴甜心苦 | zuǐ tián xīn kǔ | sweet mouth, bitter heart (idiom); insincere flattery |
| 坚苦卓绝 | jiān kǔ zhuó jué | persisting despite trials and tribulations (idiom); conspicuous determination |
| 大吃苦头 | dà chī kǔ tou | to suffer; to suffer for one's actions; to pay dearly; to burn one's fingers |
| 好奇会吃苦头的 | hào qí huì chī kǔ tou de | Curiosity killed the cat. |
| 孤苦零丁 | gū kǔ líng dīng | solitary and impoverished (idiom) |
| 学习刻苦 | xué xí kè kǔ | to study hard; assiduous |
小洞不堵，
大洞受苦 | xiǎo dòng bù dǔ ,
dà dòng shòu kǔ | A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom). A stitch in time saves nine. |
小洞不堵，
大洞吃苦 | xiǎo dòng bù dǔ ,
dà dòng chī kǔ | A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (idiom). A stitch in time saves nine. |
| 小洞不补大洞吃苦 | xiǎo dòng bù bǔ dà dòng chī kǔ | A small hole not plugged will make you suffer a big hole (common saying); a stitch in time saves nine |
| 忧苦以终 | yōu kǔ yǐ zhōng | worried to death (idiom) |
| 忆苦饭 | yì kǔ fàn | unsavory meal taken in remembrance of past hardships; fig. poor-tasting meal |
| 有苦说不出 | yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū | having unspeakable bitter suffering; (often used after 哑巴吃黄连) |
| 浴血苦战 | yù xuè kǔ zhàn | a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle (idiom) |
| 煞费苦心 | shà fèi kǔ xīn | to take a lot of trouble (idiom); painstaking; at the cost of a lot of effort |
| 用心良苦 | yòng xīn liáng kǔ | to ponder earnestly; to give a lot of thought to sth |
| 皇天不负苦心人 | Huáng tiān bù fù kǔ xīn rén | Heaven will not disappoint the person who tries (idiom). If you try hard, you're bound to succeed eventually. |
| 皮肉之苦 | pí ròu zhī kǔ | physical pain; lit. skin and flesh suffer |
| 秘鲁苦蘵 | Bì lǔ kǔ zhí | Peruvian ground-cherry; cape gooseberry; Physalis peruviana |
| 脱离苦海 | tuō lí kǔ hǎi | to escape from the abyss of suffering; to shed off a wretched plight |
| 自找苦吃 | zì zhǎo kǔ chī | to bring trouble on oneself |
| 良工心苦 | liáng gōng xīn kǔ | expert craft from hard practice (idiom); hard-won skill; A masterpiece demands suffering. |
| 良苦用心 | liáng kǔ yòng xīn | to ponder earnestly; to give a lot of thought to sth |
| 良药苦口 | liáng yào kǔ kǒu | good medicine tastes bitter (idiom); fig. frank criticism is hard to swallow |
| 苦不唧 | kǔ bu jī | slightly bitter |
