Chinese word

苦难

Pronunciation

Pinyinkǔ nàn

Meaning

  • nounsuffering

Example

他经历了很多苦难。tā jīng lì le hěn duō kǔ nàn

He has been through a lot of suffering.

Illustration for 苦难 (suffering)

More examples

饱受苦难的家庭需要更多社会支持。bǎo shòu kǔ nàn de jiā tíng xū yào gèng duō shè huì zhī chí

Families that have suffered greatly need more social support.

Core concept

A sustained burden of pain and difficult circumstances that weighs on a person's life.

Common phrases

  • 饱受苦难bǎo shòu kǔ nàn

    suffer greatly

  • 从苦难中汲取力量cóng kǔ nàn zhōng jí qǔ lì liàng

    draw strength from suffering

  • 经历苦难jīng lì kǔ nàn

    experience suffering

Similar words

困难kùn nán: Difficulty caused by problems or tasks that are hard to solve or move past.
痛苦tòng kǔ: Strong physical or emotional pain that causes intense distress.
困境kùn jìng: A difficult situation caused by unfavorable conditions that is hard to escape.
困苦kùn kǔ: A hard life caused by poverty and a lack of money or basic necessities.

Definition in Chinese

指遭受的痛苦和由困难环境引起的困境，常用于描述重大或持续的艰难经历。zhǐ zāo shòu de tòng kǔ hé yóu kùn nán huán jìng yín qǐ de kùn jìng cháng yòng yú miáo shù zhòng dà huò chí xù de jiān nán jīng lì

Word origin

苦 (kǔ, "bitter") + 难 (nàn, "difficulty") joins the sense of bitterness with conditions that are hard to overcome, forming a noun for serious hardship.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, this word sounds weighty and suits major life stories, while ordinary daily problems are usually described with more specific terms.

Other meanings

  • hardshipnoun
  • adversitynoun

Opposites

  • 顺境shùn jìngprosperitynoun
  • 安乐ān lècomfortnoun

Word lists with this word