| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 痛苦 | tòng kǔ | pain; suffering; painful; CL:个 |
| 艰苦 | jiān kǔ | difficult; hard; arduous |
| 贫苦 | pín kǔ | poverty-stricken; poor |
| 苦难 | kǔ nàn | suffering |
| 刻苦 | kè kǔ | hardworking; assiduous |
| 辛苦 | xīn kǔ | hard; exhausting; with much toil; thanks for your trouble |
| 受苦 | shòu kǔ | to suffer; hardship |
| 劳苦 | láo kǔ | labor; toil |
| 困苦 | kùn kǔ | deprivation; distressed; miserable |
| 穷苦 | qióng kǔ | impoverished; destitute |
| 苦笑 | kǔ xiào | to force a smile; a bitter laugh |
| 吃苦 | chī kǔ | to bear; hardships |
| 苦恼 | kǔ nǎo | vexed; distressed |
| 疾苦 | jí kǔ | pain and difficulties; suffering (of the people) |
| 苦闷 | kǔ mèn | depressed; dejected; feeling low |
| 苦干 | kǔ gàn | to work hard |
| 苦战 | kǔ zhàn | bitter struggle; hard battle; arduous effort |
| 苦味 | kǔ wèi | bitter taste; bitterness |
| 苦心 | kǔ xīn | painstaking effort; to take a lot of trouble; laborious at pains |
| 何苦 | hé kǔ | why bother?; is it worth the trouble? |
| 苦痛 | kǔ tòng | pain; suffering |
| 苦头 | kǔ tou | sufferings |
| 诉苦 | sù kǔ | to grumble; to complain; grievance |
| 辛辛苦苦 | xīn xīn kǔ kǔ | painstakingly; with great trouble |
| 埋头苦干 | mái tóu kǔ gàn | to bury oneself in work (idiom); to be engrossed in work; to make an all-out effort; up to the neck in work |
| 苦苦 | kǔ kǔ | strenuously; persistently; hard; painful |
| 苦功 | kǔ gōng | hard work; laborious effort; painstaking work |
| 同甘共苦 | tóng gān gòng kǔ | shared delights and common hardships (idiom); to share life's joys and sorrows; for better or for worse |
| 忆苦思甜 | yì kǔ sī tián | to view one's past as miserable and one's present as happy (idiom) |
| 千辛万苦 | qiān xīn wàn kǔ | to suffer untold hardships (idiom); trials and tribulations; with difficulty; after some effort |
| 苦役 | kǔ yì | forced labor; corvée; penal servitude |
| 苦海 | kǔ hǎi | lit. sea of bitterness; abyss of worldly suffering (Buddhist term); depths of misery |
| 苦涩 | kǔ sè | bitter and astringent; pained; agonized |
| 叫苦 | jiào kǔ | to whine about hardships; to complain of one's bitter lot; to complain; to grumble |
| 甘苦 | gān kǔ | good times and hardships; joys and tribulations; for better or for worse |
| 苦水 | kǔ shuǐ | bitter water (e.g. mineral water containing sulfates); suffering; digestive fluids rising from stomach to the mouth; fig. bitter complaint |
| 愁苦 | chóu kǔ | anxiety; distress |
| 苦力 | kǔ lì | bitter work; hard toil; coolie (English is loan word), unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times |
| 苦命 | kǔ mìng | hard lot; bitter fate |
| 愁眉苦脸 | chóu méi kǔ liǎn | frowning and worried (idiom); showing concern |
| 挖苦 | wā kǔ | to speak sarcastically; to make cutting remarks |
| 苦楚 | kǔ chǔ | suffering; misery; pain (esp. psychological) |
| 苦处 | kǔ chu | suffering; distress |
| 氯化苦 | lǜ huà kǔ | chloropicrin |
| 苦衷 | kǔ zhōng | painful embarrassment; predicament; difficulties |
| 吃苦耐劳 | chī kǔ nài láo | hardworking and enduring hardships (idiom) |
| 不胜其苦 | bù shèng qí kǔ | unable to bear the pain (idiom) |
不经一番风霜苦，
难得腊梅吐清香 | bù jīng yī fān fēng shuāng kǔ ,
nán dé là méi tǔ qīng xiāng | Without once passing through the winter's cold and wind, where would the sweet spring fragrance come from? |
| 不辞劳苦 | bù cí láo kǔ | spare no effort |
