pain; suffering; hardship; worry
Broad term for physical or mental suffering, distress, anxiety, or difficulty. Often used in compounds and set phrases.
彼は長い間、心の苦しみに耐えてきた。
He has endured mental anguish for a long time.
人生の苦を乗り越える。
Overcome the hardships of life.
duhkha (Buddhist suffering)
Buddhist term for the fundamental suffering inherent in existence. Often appears in compounds like 八苦 (the eight sufferings).
See also: 八苦
仏教では、生老病死は四苦とされる。
In Buddhism, birth, aging, sickness, and death are considered the four sufferings.
I experienced the hardship of taking entrance exams.
彼は苦もなくその問題を解いた。
He solved the problem without any difficulty.
The couple shared the hardships of daily life together.
苦痛 refers specifically to physical or mental pain and sounds more clinical, whereas 苦 is a broader, more literary term for suffering or hardship.
楽 means comfort or ease, the direct opposite of 苦's pain or hardship, as seen in the pair 苦楽 (joys and sorrows).
苦 and 九 share the same reading く but are unrelated in meaning (suffering vs. the number nine), which is why both are traditionally avoided as unlucky.
trouble; hardship; difficulty; labor; toil; pains · anxiety; worry; concern; cares
painful; physically hard; tough · distressing; emotionally painful; awkward · financially tight; needy; struggling · strained; forced; far-fetched · hard to do; unpleasant to do
suffer; be in pain; struggle; be troubled
pain; agony; suffering; distress
pain; suffering; anguish; hardship
The kanji 苦 is a phono-semantic compound: 艹 (plant) + 古 (old) suggesting bitterness or hardship. The reading く is the on'yomi, used in many Sino-Japanese compounds.
mental agony; anguish; distress
bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh
trouble; hard work · thank you for your hard work; I appreciate your efforts
candid advice; frank advice; honest opinion
hardship; suffering; trial
Sophora flavescens; shrubby sophora
difficult situation; predicament; dilemma
stiff; formal; ceremonious; strict
ascetic practice; penance; mortification · hardship; ordeal; strenuous task
bitterness; distress; anguish · bitterness and astringency
pains; hard work; effort; trouble
hard fight; difficult struggle
worry; be anxious; rack one's brains
anguish; agony; torment
worldly-wise person; person who has seen much of life
kousso; African redwood
working one's way through school; self-supporting study · studying under adversity; studying in harsh economic circumstances
hardships of life; financial struggles
pleasure and pain; joys and sorrows
labor; toil; hardship
hardship; toil; trouble
triple handicap; triple affliction