苦
苦 — Suffering
suffering, trial, worry, hardship, feel bitter, scowl
On’yomiク (ku)
Kun’yomiくるしい (kurushii)
Kun’yomi-ぐるしい (gurushii)
Kun’yomiくるしむ (kurushimu)
Kun’yomiくるしめる (kurushimeru)
Kun’yomiにがい (nigai)
Stroke order (8 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 苦
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 苦労 | くろう kurou | trouble; hardship; difficulty |
| 苦情 | くじょう kujou | complaint; troubles; objection |
| 苦しみ | くるしみ kurushimi | pain; anguish; distress |
| 苦手 | にがて nigate | poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at) |
| 苦戦 | くせん kusen | hard fight; close game; struggle |
| 苦悩 | くのう kunou | (mental) agony; anguish; suffering |
Study notes
苦 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #623 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.