吃苦头

Traditional: 吃苦頭

chī kǔ tou

Dictionary entry

to suffer

What does 吃苦头 mean?

吃苦头 (chī kǔ tou) has the following dictionary meaning.

1to suffer

2to suffer for one's actions

3to pay dearly

4to burn one's fingers

Character breakdown

Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.

吃chīto eat; to consume · to eat at (a cafeteria etc)苦kǔbitter · hardship 头tóuhead · hair style

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 吃苦头

吃苦头

chī kǔ tou

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.