Definition
苦头 is a noun that literally means 'bitter taste' (like the taste of bitter melon or medicine). More commonly, it is used figuratively to mean 'hardship, suffering, or trouble' that someone experiences. It frequently appears in the pattern 吃苦头 (chī kǔ tou), meaning 'to suffer' or 'to have a hard time'. In informal speech, you may also hear 苦头儿 (kǔtour).
n.
(figurative) hardshipsufferingtrouble(literal) bitter taste
Examples
- ，苦头。Dì yí cì chī kǔguā, wǒ quèshí cháng dào le tā de kǔ tou.The first time I ate bitter melon, I really tasted its bitterness.
- ，苦头。Tā méi tīng quàngào, zhōngyú chī le dà kǔ tou.He didn't listen to advice and finally suffered greatly.
- ，苦头。Chuàngyè chūqī, wǒmen chī le bù shǎo kǔ tou.In the early days of the startup, we suffered a lot of hardship.
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