苦 — suffering / bitter

Grade 3く, くる, にが

Radical ⾋ · radical 140 The building block this kanji is filed under

苦 (readings: く, くる, にが; Japanese kanji) means “suffering / bitter”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 苦手 (not good at).

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What does 苦 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	苦
Meaning	suffering / bitter
Readings	く, くる, にが
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	苦手 (not good at)

How to read 苦

苦 is read く or くる or にが depending on the word.

Words with 苦

苦労くろうvất vả
苦手không giỏi

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Updated: 2026-08-09