苦 kǔ — bitter; intensely; miserable; painful
这种药有点儿苦。Zhè zhǒng yào yǒu diǎnr kǔ.This medicine is a bit bitter.
Common words: 痛苦 (tòng kǔ)、辛苦 (xīn kǔ)、艰苦 (jiān kǔ)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "miserable"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "miserable", including 苦 (kǔ), 惨 (cǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "miserable" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 苦 (kǔ), 惨 (cǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span kǔ, cǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 苦 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 苦 kǔbitter; intensely; miserable; painfulUseful words: 痛苦, 辛苦
- 惨 cǎnmiserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; seriously; badlyUseful words: 悲惨, 惨重
Common words for these 2 "miserable" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 苦 (kǔ) — so "miserable" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "miserable".
惨 cǎn — miserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; seriously; badly
这场车祸十分惨重。Zhè chǎng chē huò shí fēn cǎn zhòng.This car accident was very tragic.
Common words: 悲惨 (bēi cǎn)、惨重 (cǎn zhòng)、惨痛 (cǎn tòng)
All 2 characters
Open 苦、惨 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.