痛苦

See also: 苦痛

Chinese

		ache; pain; sorrow	bitter; intensely; miserable bitter; intensely; miserable; painful
trad. (痛苦)		痛	苦
simp. #(痛苦)		痛	苦
anagram		苦痛

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tòngkǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄨㄥˋ ㄎㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tung³ fu²

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): thung-khú

  (Meixian, Guangdong): tung⁴ ku³

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thòng-khó͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): tong³ kou²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵thon-khu₅

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tòngkǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄨㄥˋ ㄎㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tòngkǔ
    • Wade–Giles: tʻung⁴-kʻu³
    • Yale: tùng-kǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tonqkuu
    • Palladius: тунку (tunku)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰʊŋ⁵¹ kʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: tung³ fu²
    • Yale: tung fú
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tung³ fu²
    • Guangdong Romanization: tung³ fu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰʊŋ³³ fuː³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thung-khú
    • Hakka Romanization System: tung ku^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tung⁴ ku³
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰuŋ⁵⁵ kʰu³¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: tung⁴ ku³
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰʊŋ⁵³⁻⁵⁵ kʰu³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thòng-khó͘
    • Tâi-lô: thòng-khóo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: torngqor
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰɔŋ²¹⁻⁵³ kʰɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰɔŋ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ kʰɔ⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰɔŋ²¹⁻⁵³ kʰɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰɔŋ¹¹⁻⁵³ kʰɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰɔŋ²¹⁻⁴¹ kʰɔ⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: tong³ kou²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thòng khóu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰoŋ²¹³⁻⁵⁵ kʰou⁵²⁻²¹/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵thon-khu₅
    • MiniDict: thon^去 khu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²thon-khu₂
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰoŋ³³ kʰu⁴⁴/

Adjective

痛苦

1. painful (in the body or mind); sore; aching; excruciating

   減少痛苦／减少痛苦  ―  jiǎnshǎo tòngkǔ  ―  to reduce suffering

   發出痛苦的呻吟／发出痛苦的呻吟  ―  fāchū tòngkǔ de shēnyín  ―  to moan in pain

   這一群不食人間煙火的人，根本不知道別人的實際痛苦！ [MSC, trad.]
   这一群不食人间烟火的人，根本不知道别人的实际痛苦！ [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè yī qún bùshírénjiānyānhuǒ de rén, gēnběn bù zhīdào biérén de shíjì tòngkǔ! [Pinyin]

   These people who are out of touch with reality just don't understand the real suffering of others!

   最痛苦的，莫過於你所愛的那個人並不知道你愛他，而你也沒有勇氣讓他知道。 [MSC, trad.]
   最痛苦的，莫过于你所爱的那个人并不知道你爱他，而你也没有勇气让他知道。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zuì tòngkǔ de, mòguòyú nǐ suǒ ài de nàge rén bìngbù zhīdào nǐ ài tā, ér nǐ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì ràng tā zhīdào. [Pinyin]

   Nothing is more painful than loving someone who doesn’t know, and you don’t have the courage to tell them.

   埋怨對於我們毫無益處，埋怨越多越痛苦，埋怨越少越快樂。 [MSC, trad.]
   埋怨对于我们毫无益处，埋怨越多越痛苦，埋怨越少越快乐。 [MSC, simp.]

   Máiyuàn duìyú wǒmen háowú yìchù, máiyuàn yuè duō yuè tòngkǔ, máiyuàn yuè shǎo yuè kuàiyuè. [Pinyin]

   Complaining is of no benefit to us. The more we complain, the more painful it gets — the less we complain, the happier we feel.

2. (figurative, of a lesson, etc.) profound; bitter

Synonyms

• (painful): 痛楚 (tòngchǔ), (Hokkien) 罪過／罪过 (zuìguò)

Related terms

• 難受／难受 (nánshòu)

Noun

痛苦

1. pain; suffering; agony

Synonyms

edit

• 痛楚 (tòngchǔ)
• 苦楚 (kǔchǔ)
• 苦水 (kǔshuǐ) (figurative)
• 苦處／苦处 (kǔchù)
• 苦難／苦难 (kǔnàn)
• 隱痛／隐痛 (yǐntòng)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (痛苦):

• → Japanese: 痛(つう)苦(く) (tsūku)
• → Korean: 통고(痛苦) (tonggo)
• → Vietnamese: thống khổ (痛苦)