痛苦
HSK 3 (2021)Old HSK 5
痛苦 (tòngkǔ) · pain
痛苦 (tòngkǔ) means “pain; suffering; painful”. It is written with 2 characters: 痛 (painful) + 苦 (bitter). It is an HSK 3 word in the 2021 standard.
How 痛苦 is built
The characters
痛 tòng · painful
What 痛 is made of
- 疒nè — sickness
- 广guǎng — broad
- 丶 — dot
- 厂chǎng — "cliff" in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 27)
- 冫bīng — ice
- 丶 — dot
- 广guǎng — broad
- 甬yǒng — path
- 用yòng — to use
- 冂 — frame
- 用yòng — to use
Origin hint: 疒 gives the meaning, 甬 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
生病的时候很痛苦。Shēng bìng de shíhou hěn tòngkǔ.Being ill is painful.
他看起来很痛苦。Tā kàn qǐlai hěn tòngkǔ.He looks like he's suffering.
Questions about 痛苦
What does 痛苦 mean?
痛苦 (tòngkǔ) means “pain; suffering; painful”.
How do you pronounce 痛苦?
痛苦 is pronounced tòngkǔ.
Which HSK level is 痛苦?
痛苦 is in HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 5.
Related words
- 痛快tòngkuàihappy
- 头痛tóutòngheadache
- 痛tòngpainful
- 辛苦xīnkǔhard
- 艰苦jiānkǔhard
- 刻苦kèkǔhardworking
- 吃苦chīkǔto endure hardship
- 苦尽甘来kǔjìngānláiafter hardship comes happiness
- 苦涩kǔsèbitter
- 苦kǔbitter
Learn 痛苦 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 37: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.