苦 (kǔ) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning & Stroke Order
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 苦 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.
Stroke Order & Practice
Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.
HSK 4 Words Containing 苦
苦
bitter
这杯咖啡太苦了。
Zhè bēi kāfēi tài kǔ le.
This coffee is too bitter.
辛苦
hard; tiring; laborious
老师，您辛苦了！
Lǎoshī, nín xīnkǔ le!
Teacher, you've worked hard!
Tasks Featuring 苦 / 相关任务
Words containing 苦 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:
About the character 苦
苦 (kǔ) means bitter. It is one of the 150 characters HSK 4 expects you to write from memory. Practice the stroke order until it feels automatic — most learners need 5–10 successful traces before a character "sticks".