良药苦口 liáng yào kǔ kǒu

DEFINITIONS

  1. good medicine tastes bitter (idiom); fig. frank criticism is hard to swallow

CHARACTERS

良 liáng
HSK 5
good, virtuous, respectable
药 yào
HSK 2
leaf of Dahurian angelica plant; medicine
苦 kǔ
HSK 4
bitter; hardship, suffering
口 kǒu
HSK 3
mouth; open end; entrance, gate