命苦

命 (mìng) here is 'fate' or 'lot in life', a concept rooted in traditional Chinese thinking that one's hardships are partly assigned by heaven. 命苦 is the lament of someone who feels fate has dealt them a bad hand — common in TV dramas and grandparents' speech.

Self-directed 我命苦 carries a tone of self-pity; said about others it's sympathetic. The opposite is 命好 (mìnghǎo, 'fortunate from birth').