苦 kǔ

1. kǔ noun bitterness; bitter flavor
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Food and Drink , Concept: Flavor 味道
   Notes: One of the 五味 'five flavors', the opposite of 甜 'sweetness' (Guoyu '苦' n 1)
2. kǔ noun hardship; suffering
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: For example, the idiom 苦中作乐 'to enjoy in spite of hardship' (Guoyu '苦' n 2; Unihan '苦')
3. kǔ verb to make things difficult for
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 受累 or 为难 (Guoyu '苦' v 1)
4. kǔ verb to train; to practice
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 磨鍊 (Guoyu '苦' v 2)
5. kǔ verb to suffer from a misfortune
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 患 (Guoyu '苦' v 3)
6. kǔ adjective bitter
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Food and Drink
   Notes: (Guoyu '苦' adj 1; Unihan '苦')
7. kǔ adjective grieved; facing hardship
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 艰辛; for example, 苦日子 'hard times' (Guoyu '苦' adj 2)
8. kǔ adjective in low spirits; depressed
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 愁闷; for example, 愁眉苦脸 'to look anxious' (Guoyu '苦' adj 3)
9. kǔ adverb assiduously; to do one's best; to strive as much as possible
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 尽力 (Guoyu '苦' adv; Han Dian '苦' adj 7)
10. kǔ adjective painful
    Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
    Notes: In the sense of 痛 (Han Dian '苦' adj 4)
11. kǔ noun suffering; duḥkha; dukkha
    Domain: Buddhism 佛教
    Notes: Sanskrit equivalent: duḥkha, Pali: dukkha, Japanese: ku; Tibetan: sdug bsngal. Duḥkha is the unsatisfactory nature inherent in all conditioned phenomena. 苦諦 'The truth of suffering' is the first of the 四聖諦 'four noble truths,' a fundamental teaching of Buddhism (BCSD '苦', p. 1011; BL 'duḥkha', p. 270-271; FGDB '苦').

Contained in

• 能受苦方为志士 肯吃亏必是福人(能受苦方為志士 肯吃虧必是福人) Only perseverance makes a hero; Only compromise brings good fortune.
• 能除一切苦 able to dispel all suffering
• 拔济苦难陀罗尼经(拔濟苦難陀羅尼經) Sutra on the Dharani for Saving from Suffering; Ba Ji Kunan Tuoluoni Jing
• 五取蕴苦(五取蘊苦) suffering due to the five aggregates
• 知苦断集(知苦斷集) realize suffering and stop accumulation
• 四圣谛; 1. 苦谛 2. 集谛 3. 灭谛 4. 道谛(四聖諦; 1. 苦諦 2. 集諦 3. 滅諦 4. 道諦) Four Noble Truths: 1. The truth of suffering; 2. The truth of the cause of suffering; 3. The truth of the cessation of suffering; 4. The truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering
• 苦受 the sensation of pain
• 五苦经(五苦經) Suffering in the Five Realms
• 苦灭道圣谛(苦滅道聖諦) the noble truth of the way to extinction of suffering is the noble eightfold path
• 受戒容易守戒难 发心容易恒心难 忍苦容易忍气难 尊上容易尊下难 共无容易共有难 依人容易依法难 依神容易依佛难 为己容易为人难 信道容易行道难 处閒容易处众难(受戒容易守戒難 發心容易恆心難 忍苦容易忍氣難 尊上容易尊下難 共無容易共有難 依人容易依法難 依神容易依佛難 為己容易為人難 信道容易行道難 處閒容易處眾難) Easy it is to take the precepts but harder to observe them. Easy it is to have aspirations but harder to persevere. Easy it is to endure suffering but harder to tolerate being wronged. Easy it is to respect one's superiors but harder to respect one's subordinates. Easy it is to accept loss but harder to share profits. Easy it is to rely on people but harder to rely on the Dharma. Easy it is to rely on the gods but harder to rely on the Buddha. Easy it is for the lesser good but harder for the greater good. Easy it is to believe but harder to practice. Easy it is to be at leisure but harder to be with people.
• 大慈大悲救苦观世音自在王菩萨广大圆满无碍自在青颈大悲心陀罗尼(大慈大悲救苦觀世音自在王菩薩廣大圓滿無礙自在青頸大悲心陀羅尼) Avalokitesvara bodhisattva of Great Mercy, Nilakantha Great Compassion Dharani; Da Ci Da Bei Jiu Ku Guanshiyin Zizai Wang Pusa Guangda Yuanman Wu'ai Zizai Qing Jing Dabei Xin Tuoluoni
• 求不得苦 Not Getting What One Wants; suffering due to not getting what we want
• 度一切苦厄 Overcome All Sufferings
• 苦海 ocean of suffering ; sea of suffering; abyss of worldly suffering
• 三苦所逼故 Because of the torment of the threefold suffering
• 不相哀相逢会苦(不相哀相逢會苦) suffering of having to meet the hateful
• 苦习(苦習) the [noble truth of the] origination of suffering
• 处难处之人 任难任之事 行难行之道 忍难忍之苦(處難處之人 任難任之事 行難行之道 忍難忍之苦) Befriend the unfriendly, Do the undoable, Tread the untreadable, Endure the unendurable.
• 坏苦(壞苦) suffering from impermanence
• 是苦集 this is the origin of pain
• 念苦是苦 knowledge with reference to stress
• 八苦; 1. 生苦 2. 老苦 3. 病苦 4. 死苦 5. 爱别离苦 6. 怨憎会苦 7. 求不得苦 8. 五阴炽盛苦(八苦; 1. 生苦 2. 老苦 3. 病苦 4. 死苦 5. 愛別離苦 6. 怨憎會苦 7. 求不得苦 8. 五陰熾盛苦) Eight Kinds of Suffering: 1. birth; 2. old age; 3. sickness; 4. death; 5. separation from loved ones; 6. closeness to loathsome people; 7. not getting what one wants; 8. the five aggregates
• 苦海无边，回头是岸(苦海無邊，回頭是岸) The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore . Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering. ; the ocean of suffering is boundless; only by turning back can one reach salvation
• 离苦(離苦) to transcend suffering

Also contained in

小洞不堵，大洞吃苦 、 苦日子 、 皮肉之苦 、 苦菊 、 苦苦哀求 、 悲苦 、 苦役 、 不辞劳苦 、 苦杏仁苷 、 苦艾 、 苦差 、 苦楝 、 艰苦 、 苦待 、 苦刑 、 苦主 、 辛苦 、 自讨苦吃 、 皇天不负苦心人 、 凄苦 、 刻苦学习 、 苦海无边 、 苦大仇深 、 劳苦功高 、 有苦说不出 、 苦涩 、 精苦

Word is mentioned most frequently in

Truncated for common words

• Scroll 16 Abhidharmajñānaprasthānaśāstra (Apidamo Fa Zhi Zu Lun) 阿毘達磨發智論 — count: 308
• Scroll 5 Da Ban Niepan Jing Yi Ji 大般涅槃經義記 — count: 240
• Scroll 44 Yogācāryabhūmiśāstra (Yujia Shi Di Lun) 瑜伽師地論 — count: 179
• Scroll 22 Notes on the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 俱舍論記 — count: 169
• Scroll 15 Xian Yang Shengjiao Lun 顯揚聖教論 — count: 163
• Scroll 22 Commentary on the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 俱舍論疏 — count: 160
• Scroll 24 Abhidharmajñānaprasthānaśāstra (Apitan Ba Jiandu Lun) 阿毘曇八犍度論 — count: 159
• Scroll 6 Satyasiddhiśāstra (Cheng Shi Lun / Treatise of Establishing Reality) 成實論 — count: 157
• Scroll 7 Bodhisattvabhūmi (Pusa Xing Chi Jing) 菩薩地持經 — count: 151
• Scroll 1 Catuḥsatyaśāstra (Si Di Lun) 四諦論 — count: 148

Collocations

• 苦不乐 (苦不樂) 不苦不樂 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 4 — count: 11
• 苦阴 (苦陰) 緣此苦陰 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 1 — count: 8
• 大苦 (大苦) 是為此大苦陰緣 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 10 — count: 7
• 咸苦 (鹹苦) 海水鹹苦有三因緣 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 21 — count: 6
• 苦想 (苦想) 六者無常苦想 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 2 — count: 6
• 见苦 (見苦) 不能見苦 — Reciting in Concert (Daji Famen Jing) 大集法門經, Scroll 2 — count: 5
• 无常苦 (無常苦) 六者無常苦想 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 2 — count: 5
• 忧悲苦 (憂悲苦) 憂悲苦不如意惱 — Nirvāṇa Sūtra 佛般泥洹經, Scroll 1 — count: 5
• 苦报 (苦報) 煩惱苦報墮三惡道 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 6 — count: 5
• 苦无我 (苦無我) 七者苦無我想 — Long Discourses (Chang Ahan Jing) 長阿含經, Scroll 2 — count: 4