This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

Readings

Kana: ク、くる.しい、-ぐる.しい、くる.しむ、くる.しめる、にが.い、にが.る
Romaji: ku, kuru.shii, -guru.shii, kuru.shimu, kuru.shimeru, niga.i, niga.ru
Kana
Romaji

Meanings

suffering, trial, worry, hardship, feel bitter, scowl

Stroke Diagram

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Kanji Info

Stroke Count:  8
Radical Number:  140
Frequency:  623
Grade:  3
Skip Pattern:  2-3-5
Korean Reading:  go
Chinese Reading:  ku3
Unicode:  82e6
JIS:  366C

Indexes

Halpern Index: 2243
Nelson Index: 3928
New Nelson Index: 5009
Spahn Hadamitzky Index: 3k5.24
Four Corner Index: 4460.4
Guide to Remembering Index: 264
Gakken Index: 597
Japanese Names Index: 687
Daikanwanjiten Index: 30797P
Daikanwanjiten Index and Page: 9.0584
Remembering the kanji Index: 225
Kanji Way Index: 344
Kanji Flashcards Index: 864
Kodansha Compact Index: 646
Read Writing Kanji Third Index: 283
Kanji in Context Index: 342
1999 Kanji Learners Index: 1433
2013 Kanji Learners Index: 1932
French Remembering the Kanji Index: 230
Remembering the Kanji 6th Index: 239
Essential Kanji Index: 264
Kodansha Kanji Index: 2789
Roo 2001 Kanji Index: 1977
Read Writing the Kanji Index: 197
Tuttle Kanji Cards Index: 295

Words

()
pain; anguish; suffering; distress; anxiety; worry; trouble; difficulty; hardship; duhkha (suffering)
苦しむ (くるしむ)
to suffer; to groan; to be worried
苦労 (くろう)
troubles; hardships
苦悩 (くのう)
suffering; distress; affliction; anguish; agony; trouble
苦情 (くじょう)
complaint; troubles; objection; grievance
苦手 (にがて)
poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at); dislike (of); difficult to deal with
苦戦 (くせん)
hard fight; close game
苦しめる (くるしめる)
to torment; to pain; to inflict (physical) pain; to hurt; to harass; to cause (emotional) pain; to afflict; to distress; to bother; to trouble; to stump; to baffle
苦しい (くるしい)
painful; difficult; agonizing; needy; tight (budget); straitened (circumstances); forced (smile, joke); lame (excuse); strained (interpretation); awkward (situation); painful (position); (after masu stem) hard to do; unpleasant
苦痛 (くつう)
pain; agony; bitterness
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