苦尽甘来 (kǔjìngānlái) · after hardship comes happiness

苦尽甘来 (kǔjìngānlái) means “after hardship comes happiness”. It is written with 4 characters: 苦 (bitter) + 尽 (to exhaust) + 甘 (sweet) + 来 (to come). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 苦尽甘来 is built

The characters

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

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)

尽 jǐn · to exhaust

What 尽 is made of

尺chǐ — ruler
- 尸shī — body
  - 丿 — falling stroke
- 乚 — hook stroke
⺀ — ice

甘 gān · sweet

What 甘 is made of

卄niàn — twenty
- 十 — ten
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke

来 lái · to come

What 来 is made of

未wèi — not yet
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 木mù — tree
  - 十 — ten
  - 八bā — eight
丷ha — kwukyel
- 丶 — dot

Origin hint: A wheat plant that has not yet borne fruit; compare 來 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

经过多年努力，他们终于苦尽甘来。Jīngguò duōnián nǔlì, tāmen zhōngyú kǔjìngānlái.After years of effort, their hard times finally gave way to good ones.

别灰心，总会苦尽甘来的。Bié huīxīn, zǒng huì kǔjìngānlái de.Don't lose heart; good times will come after the bad.

Questions about 苦尽甘来

What does 苦尽甘来 mean?

苦尽甘来 (kǔjìngānlái) means “after hardship comes happiness”.

How do you pronounce 苦尽甘来?

苦尽甘来 is pronounced kǔjìngānlái.

Which HSK level is 苦尽甘来?

苦尽甘来 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 苦尽甘来 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 110: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

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