# 苦 — bitter; suffering

苦 means “bitter; suffering”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. On'yomi: ク (ku). Kun'yomi: くる(しい) (kurushii), にが(い) (nigai). You'll see it in words such as 苦しみ (kurushimi, “pain; anguish”).

- Meaning: bitter; suffering
- On'yomi: ク (ku)
- Kun'yomi: くる(しい) (kurushii), にが(い) (nigai)
- Strokes: 8
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Feelings 1

## How to remember 苦

Grass (艹) gone old (古): bitter.

Parts: 艹 grass · 古 old

## Words with 苦

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 苦しみ | くるしみ (kurushimi) | pain; anguish |
| 苦い | にがい (nigai) | bitter |
| 苦しめる | くるしめる (kurushimeru) | to torment; to pain |

## Don't confuse it with

[古](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/old/) · [草](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/grass/) · [固](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/solid/) · [居](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/reside/)

## More in the “Feelings 1” set

[感](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/feeling/) · [情](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/emotion/) · [望](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/hope/) · [苦](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bitter/) · [幸](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/happiness/) · [悲](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/sad/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bitter/. Last updated 2026-11-01.