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苦 means 'bitter'

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Strokes : 8    Frequency: 466   JLPT: N3    Usefulness: 3    Study set: 3-12    Grade: 3   Intermediate lesson: 25    Beginner lesson: -   Begins 100 words   Used in 194 words   Used in 42 names   Component in 1 kanji (0 Jōyō)
Jōyō (常用)
Common readings
On
   ク
Kun
   くるしい painful   くるしむ to suffer   くるしめる to torment   にがい bitter   にがる to feel bitter
Additional readings
Kun    -ぐるしい
Components
⿱  艹 (艸) grass  古 old  
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See also
若 young  
Mastery
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Flashcards
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Most useful words by reading
In the most useful 10,000 words in Japanese, 苦 is used 12 times, read 3 ways.
Across all words in Japanese, 苦 is used 180 times, read 3 ways (with 2 variations).
Showing:
ク : 125 words FIND ALL
く ろ う 1
troubles; hardships
(click the word to view an additional 2 forms, examples and links)
ク (read as ぐ) : 3 words FIND ALL
き ぐ ろ う 2
noun
worry; care; anxiety
(click the word for examples and links)
にがい : 25 words FIND ALL
に が て 0 に が て 3
1. poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at)
2. dislike (of); difficult to deal with
(click the word for examples and links)
くるしい : 22 words FIND ALL
く る し い 3
1. painful; difficult; agonizing
2. needy; tight (budget); straitened (circumstances)  (see also: 苦しい懐)
(click the word to view an additional 3 meanings, examples and links)
くるしい (read as ぐる) : 5 words FIND ALL
み ぐ る し い 4
unsightly; ugly
(click the word for examples and links)
An additional くる.しむ less common words include 苦 but the reading has not yet been categorized.
Quick links
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More information
Wiktionary ⇗ | Unicode.org ⇗ | Google Japan ⇗ | Hanziyuan etymology ⇗
Additional data
Henshall: 283 (originally: 264)  Joy o' Kanji : 264  Key to Kanji: 237 

Cascading kanji view

苦
ク   くるしい painful   くるしむ to suffer   くるしめる to torment   にがい bitter   にがる to feel bitter   
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古
コ   ふるい old   -ふるす to grow old   
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十
ジュウ   ジッ   と    とお ten   
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一
イチ   イツ   ひとつ    ひと- one   
丨
stick   
口
コウ   ク   くち mouth   
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艹
grass   
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