憶苦思甜 yì kǔ sī tián

recall past hardship, value present joy

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to view one's past as miserable and one's present as happy (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
憶 yì
to remember; memory; to recollect
苦 kǔ HSK 4
bitter; to suffer; hardship
思 sī HSK 2
to think; to consider
甜 tián HSK 3
sweet