刻苦
Old HSK 5
刻苦 (kèkǔ) · hardworking
刻苦 (kèkǔ) means “hardworking; diligent”. It is written with 2 characters: 刻 (quarter (of an hour)) + 苦 (bitter). It is an old HSK 5 word (HSK 2.0).
How 刻苦 is built
The characters
刻 kè · quarter (of an hour)
What 刻 is made of
- 亥hài — 12th terrestrial branch
- 亠tóu — lid
- 丶 — dot
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 亠tóu — lid
- 刂dāo — knife
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 亅 — hook
Origin hint: 刂 gives the meaning, 亥 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
苦 kǔ · bitter
What 苦 is made of
- 艹cǎo — grass
- 古gǔ — ancient
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 十 — ten
Origin hint: 艹 gives the meaning, 古 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
他学习非常刻苦。Tā xuéxí fēicháng kèkǔ.He studies very hard.
经过刻苦训练，她得了冠军。Jīngguò kèkǔ xùnliàn, tā dé le guànjūn.After hard training she won the championship.
Questions about 刻苦
What does 刻苦 mean?
刻苦 (kèkǔ) means “hardworking; diligent”.
How do you pronounce 刻苦?
刻苦 is pronounced kèkǔ.
Which HSK level is 刻苦?
刻苦 is in Old HSK 5.
Related words
- 立刻lìkèimmediately
- 深刻shēnkèdeep
- 时刻shíkèmoment
- 雕刻diāokèto carve
- 刻不容缓kèbùrónghuǎnextremely urgent
- 片刻piànkèa moment
- 刻kèquarter (of an hour)
- 痛苦tòngkǔpain
- 辛苦xīnkǔhard
- 艰苦jiānkǔhard
Learn 刻苦 with its group
It is part of Old HSK 5 · Group 56: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.