刻苦
kè kǔ HSK 5

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

她学习很刻苦。
Tā xuéxí hěn kèkǔ.
She studies very hard.
刻苦练习才能成功。
Kèkǔ liànxí cáinéng chénggōng.
Only through hard practice can you succeed.
他刻苦工作了很多年。
Tā kèkǔ gōngzuòle hěnduō nián.
He worked hard for many years.
他很刻苦。
Tā hěn kèkǔ.
He is very diligent.
她学习刻苦。
Tā xuéxí kèkǔ.
She studies hard.

💡 Memory Tip

Break down the characters: 刻 (kè) can mean 'carve' or 'engrave', and 苦 (kǔ) means 'bitter' or 'hardship'. Imagine someone 'carving' out their success through 'bitter' hard work.

📝 Usage Notes

This is a formal and positive adjective, common in both written and spoken Chinese. It's frequently used in educational, professional, and personal development contexts to praise someone's work ethic, especially in studying, training, or mastering a skill.

📖 Grammar Points

Typically used as an attributive adjective (刻苦的学生) or adverbial (刻苦地学习). It can be modified by degree adverbs like 很, 非常, 十分.

🏯 Cultural Notes

刻苦 is a highly valued trait in Chinese culture, associated with the Confucian ideal of self-cultivation through effort. It's often linked to success in the highly competitive education system and is a common theme in motivational stories.

🔄 Similar Words

努力 (nǔlì) also means 'hardworking' but is more general and less intense; 刻苦 specifically implies enduring hardship. 勤奋 (qínfèn) means 'diligent' and is very close in meaning, but 刻苦 has a stronger connotation of suffering or austerity in the process.

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