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 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

jìn
gān
lái