苦干

苦幹

kǔgàn

verb #37,009

Meanings

1 to work hard; to toil
2 to put in hard work

Characters

bitter / painful

Examples

他苦干了三年，终于成功了。

Tā kǔgànle sān nián, zhōngyú chénggōng le.

He toiled for three years and finally succeeded.

只有苦干才能改变命运。

Zhǐyǒu kǔgàn cáinéng gǎibiàn mìngyùn.

Only hard work can change one's fate.

工人们日夜苦干，按时完成了任务。

Gōngrénmen rìyè kǔgàn, ànshí wánchéngle rènwù.

The workers toiled day and night and finished the task on time.

Tips

usage

苦干 emphasizes hard, often physical labor done in adverse conditions — 苦 here means 'bitter / painful', not just 'difficult'. It pairs naturally with 实干 (shígàn) 'do solid work' in the slogan 苦干实干 'work hard and work practically', a stock phrase in mainland political and business discourse.

Stroke Order

苦 kǔ

干 gàn