苦不堪言

kǔbù-kānyán

idiom #36,791

Meanings

1 suffering beyond words
2 unspeakably miserable
3 indescribably painful

Characters

suffering; bitter

to bear; able to

to speak; words

Examples

HSK 4

连日加班，他苦不堪言。

Lián rì jiābān, tā kǔbù-kānyán.

After days of overtime, he was miserable beyond words.

HSK 5

高温让工人苦不堪言。

Gāowēn ràng gōngrén kǔbù-kānyán.

The extreme heat made the workers suffer beyond words.

HSK 7-9

这些年来，她的处境苦不堪言。

Zhèxiē nián lái, tā de chǔjìng kǔbù-kānyán.

For years, her situation has been unspeakably bleak.

Tips

history

Derived from 李昌龄's 乐善录·刘贡父 (Song): the account of a late-life illness so grave that 'the pain cannot be spoken of' - 苦不可言, the near-identical classical precursor.

register

Strongly emphatic. Best reserved for genuine suffering - ongoing hardship, chronic illness, harsh conditions. Using it for minor annoyances sounds melodramatic.

Stroke Order

苦 kǔ

不 bù

堪 kān

言 yán