| 苦 |  kǔ | bitter / hardship / pain / to suffer / to bring suffering to / painstakingly |   |
| 惨烈 | cǎn liè | bitter / desperate | |
| 辛酸 | xīn suān | pungent (taste) / bitter / fig. sad / miserable | |
| 惨痛 | cǎn tòng | bitter / painful / deeply distressed | |
| 沉痛 | chén tòng | grief / remorse / deep in sorrow / bitter (anguish) / profound (condolences) | |
| 严酷 | yán kù | bitter / harsh / grim / ruthless / severe / cut-throat (competition) | |
| 酸涩 | suān sè | sour / acrid / (fig.) bitter / painful | |
| 荼 | tú | thistle / common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) / bitter (taste) / cruel / flowering grass in profusion | |
| 血淋淋 | xiě lín lín | bloody / blood-soaked / gory / grisly / cruel / brutal / harsh / grim / bitter | |
| 教训 | jiào xun | to provide guidance / to lecture sb / to upbraid / a talking-to / a bitter lesson / CL:番[fan1],頓|顿[dun4] | |
| 苦笑 | kǔ xiào | to force a smile / a bitter laugh | |
| 冷笑 | lěng xiào | to sneer / to laugh grimly / grin of dissatisfaction (bitterness, helplessness, indignation etc) / bitter, grim, sarcastic or angry smile | |
| 苦涩 | kǔ sè | bitter and astringent / pained / agonized | |
| 严寒 | yán hán | bitter cold / severe winter | |
| 苦瓜 | kǔ guā | bitter melon (bitter gourd, balsam pear, balsam apple, leprosy gourd, bitter cucumber) | |
| 苦战 | kǔ zhàn | bitter struggle / hard battle / arduous effort | |
| 叫苦 | jiào kǔ | to whine about hardships / to complain of one's bitter lot / to complain / to grumble | |
| 酸甜苦辣 | suān tián kǔ là | sour, sweet, bitter and spicy hot / fig. the joys and sorrows of life | |
| 苦力 | kǔ lì | bitter work / hard toil / (loanword) coolie, unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times | |
| 苦命 | kǔ mìng | hard lot / bitter fate / unfortunate | |
| 五味 | wǔ wèi | the five flavors, namely: sweet 甜, sour 酸, bitter 苦, spicy hot 辣, salty 鹹|咸 / all kinds of flavors | |
| 苦水 | kǔ shuǐ | bitter water (e.g. mineral water containing sulfates) / suffering / digestive fluids rising from stomach to the mouth / fig. bitter complaint | |
| 鏖战 | áo zhàn | bitter fighting / a violent battle | |
| 苦果 | kǔ guǒ | lit. bitter fruit / fig. painful consequence | |
| 苦思 | kǔ sī | to think hard / bitter thoughts / to pour out one's sufferings | |
| 苦味 | kǔ wèi | bitter taste / bitterness | |
| 痛心疾首 | tòng xīn jí shǒu | bitter and hateful (idiom) / to grieve and lament (over sth) | |
| 怨毒 | yuàn dú | bitter resentment / rancor | |
| 五香 | wǔ xiāng | five spice seasoned / incorporating the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking (sweet, sour, bitter, savory, salty) | |
| 含辛茹苦 | hán xīn rú kǔ | to suffer every possible torment (idiom) / bitter hardship / to bear one's cross | |
| 苦寒 | kǔ hán | bitter cold | |
| 切肤之痛 | qiè fū zhī tòng | keenly felt pain / bitter anguish | |
| 惨笑 | cǎn xiào | bitter smile | |
| 苦口 | kǔ kǒu | lit. bitter taste (cf good medicine tastes bitter 良藥苦口|良药苦口) / fig. earnestly (of warning, advice) | |
| 枳壳 | zhǐ qiào | bitter orange (Fructus aurantii) (used in TCM) | |
| 苦菜花 | Kǔ Cài huā | Bitter Herbs, 1958 novel by Feng Deying 馮德英|冯德英[Feng2 De2ying1], made into a film in 1965 | |
| 吃哑巴亏 | chī yǎ ba kuī | to be forced to suffer in silence / unable to speak of one's bitter suffering | |
| 苦活 | kǔ huó | bitter work / sweated labor | |
| 甘 | gān | (bound form) sweet / pleasant (contrasted with 苦[ku3]: bitter, unpleasant) / to be willing (to do sth) | |
| 醰 | tán | bitter taste in wine / rich / full flavored | |
| 痛哭流涕 | tòng kū liú tì | weeping bitter tears | |
| 切骨之仇 | qiè gǔ zhī chóu | bitter hatred / hatred that cuts to the bone | |
| 嘴甜心苦 | zuǐ tián xīn kǔ | sweet mouth, bitter heart (idiom) / insincere flattery | |
| 良药苦口 | liáng yào kǔ kǒu | good medicine tastes bitter (idiom) / fig. frank criticism is hard to swallow | |
| 茹苦含辛 | rú kǔ hán xīn | bitter hardship / to bear one's cross | |
| 逆耳之言 | nì ěr zhī yán | speech that grates on the ear (idiom) / bitter truths / home truths (that one does not want to hear) | |
| 食荼卧棘 | shí tú wò jí | to eat bitter fruit and lie on thorns (idiom) / to share the hard life of the common people | |
| 仇隙 | chóu xì | feud / bitter quarrel | |
| 冷话 | lěng huà | harsh words / sarcasm / bitter remarks | |
| 吐苦水 | tǔ kǔ shuǐ | to have bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth / fig. to complain bitterly / to pour out one's sufferings | |
| 哑巴吃黄连，有苦说不出 | yǎ ba chī huáng lián , yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū | to be forced to suffer in silence (idiom) / unable to speak of one's bitter suffering / sometimes written 啞子吃黃連，有苦說不出|哑子吃黄连，有苦说不出 | |
| 拼到底 | pīn dào dǐ | to brave it out / to the bitter end | |
| 有苦说不出 | yǒu kǔ shuō bu chū | having unspeakable bitter suffering / (often used after 啞巴吃黃連|哑巴吃黄连[ya3 ba5 chi1 huang2 lian2]) | |
| 气不过 | qì bu guò | so angry it's unbearable / bitter about unbearable grievances | |
| 活罪 | huó zuì | bitter sufferings / great hardships | |
| 苦不唧 | kǔ bu jī | slightly bitter | |
| 苦甘 | kǔ gān | bitter sweet | |
| 苦竹 | kǔ zhú | bitter bamboo (Pleioblastus amarus) | |
| 冯德英 | Féng Dé yīng | Feng Deying (1935-2022), author of the 1958 novel Bitter Herbs 苦菜花[Ku3cai4hua1] | |
| 咸涩 | xián sè | salty and bitter / acerbic | |
| 黄水茄 | huáng shuǐ qié | bitter tomato | |
| 斑鸠菊 | bān jiū jú | bitter leaf | |
| 色字头上一把刀 | sè zì tóu shàng yī bǎ dāo | lit. there is a knife above the character for lust / fig. lascivious activities can lead to bitter consequences | |
| 悲酸 | bēi suān | bitter and sad | |
| 自食恶果 | zì shí è guǒ | lit. to eat one's own bitter fruit (idiom) / fig. to suffer the consequences of one's own actions / to stew in one's own juice | |
| 酸甜苦辣 | suān - tián - kǔ - là | lit. sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom) / fig. all kinds of flavors / the joys and sorrows of life | |
