苦尽甘来

苦盡甘來
kǔjìn-gānlái
idiom HSK 7-9 #44,913

Meanings

  1. 1 the bitterness ends and the sweetness arrives
  2. 2 hard times give way to better ones

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè bù diànyǐng jiǎng de shì yì jiā rén kǔjìn-gānlái de gùshi.
The film tells the story of a family whose long hardship finally ends.
HSK 6
Tā de diànpù kuīsǔn le bā nián, rújīn zǒngsuàn kǔjìn-gānlái.
His shop lost money for eight years, and things have finally turned around.
HSK 7-9
Tā xiāngxìn áo guò zhè jǐ nián jiù néng kǔjìn-gānlái.
She believes that if she gets through these few years, better days will come.

Tips

history
The line comes from the Yuan-dynasty play 《西厢记》 by 王实甫, where a lovesick young scholar finally wins the woman he has pined for after a long stretch of frustration.
usage
Two halves in balance: 苦尽 the bitterness running out, 甘来 the sweetness arriving. It marks a turning point that has actually been reached, so it suits looking back on hardship that is over rather than cheering someone on in the middle of it.

Stroke Order

苦 kǔ
尽 jìn
甘 gān
来 lái