吃苦头 chī kǔ tou

to suffer for one's actions; to suffer; to pay dearly

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 30968th word

Definitions

  1. 1. to suffer for one's actions
  2. 2. to suffer
  3. 3. to pay dearly
  4. 4. to burn one's fingers

Characters

Character Meaning
吃 chī HSK 1
to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc)
苦 kǔ HSK 4
bitter; to suffer; hardship
头 tou HSK 3
head; the top; end