1. Home
  2. Dictionary
  3. 苦尽甘来

苦尽甘来

kǔ jìn gān lái

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom); the hard times are over, the good times just beginning

Definition

苦尽甘来指艰难困苦过去了,幸福美好的日子来到了。比喻经过艰苦努力后终于获得成功或幸福。

After suffering comes happiness; bitterness ends and sweetness begins. It describes how after enduring hardships, one finally achieves success or happiness.

Usage

用来形容经历了苦难之后终于迎来了好日子或成功,常用来勉励人坚持不放弃。

Used to describe a situation where after enduring hardships, good times or success finally arrive. Often used to encourage people to persist and not give up.

Examples

  • 1 经过多年奋斗,他终于苦尽甘来,事业有成。 (After years of hard work, he finally had his hardships turn to happiness and succeeded in his career.)
  • 2 这个家庭经历了太多磨难,如今苦尽甘来,生活幸福美满。 (This family has gone through so many hardships, now their bitterness has ended and sweetness has come, living happily.)
  • 3 创业者们总是鼓励自己,苦尽甘来,坚持就是胜利。 (Entrepreneurs always encourage themselves that after suffering comes happiness, persistence is victory.)
  • 4 苦尽甘来,在比赛中获得金牌,多年的训练没有白费。 (She had her bitterness end and sweetness come, winning a gold medal in the competition, years of training were not in vain.)
  • 5 老人回忆起过去的日子,感叹道:“真是苦尽甘来啊。” (The old man recalled the past days and sighed, 'Truly, bitterness ends and sweetness comes.')

Put it into practice

Exam-style HSK drills with instant scoring and explanations.

Find my HSK level

Free · about 3 minutes · no account needed