苦
- suffering, pain;
Etymology
A phono-semantic compound character combining:
艸 (grass) - provides the meaning (plants, herbs);
古 (고, old) - provides the sound.
Because many plants taste bitter, the character came to mean “(taste is) bitter.”
From this literal meaning, it expanded metaphorically to signify “to suffer,” “to be in pain,” “to endure hardship.”
Usage in Korean
고통 (苦痛) — pain; suffering
고생 (苦生) — hardship; suffering in life
고난 (苦難) — adversity; ordeal
고심 (苦心) — mental anguish; deep worry
고행 (苦行) — ascetic practice; severe discipline
고약 (苦藥) — bitter medicine
고미 (苦味) — bitter taste
Additional notes
Related characters:
辛 — spicy; hardship
痛 — pain
悲 — sorrow
難 — difficulty
甘 — sweet (semantic opposite)
In Buddhist doctrine, 苦 (duḥkha) is a core concept:
苦 — suffering
集 — origin of suffering
滅 — cessation
道 — path
Together these form the Four Noble Truths (四諦). Here, 苦 means not only pain but existential unsatisfactoriness.
The metaphor “bitter medicine cures illness” (良藥苦口) is culturally widespread.
Classical citations
《孟子》 (Mencius)
「苦其心志，勞其筋骨。」
“He makes their minds suffer and their bodies toil.”
《詩經》 (Book of Odes)
「民之多苦。」
“The people suffer greatly.”
「先苦後樂。」
“Bitter first, joy later” — Classical proverb
Alternative forms
- 廿十口 (TJR)
- ⿱ 艹 古
