受苦

• 병음: shòu kǔ
• 한자 분석: 受 = 爪 + 冖 + 又 (hands passing — to receive/bear); 苦 = 艹 + 古 (grass + ancient — a bitter plant; bitterness, hardship)

뜻

고통받다; 고생하다

A verb phrase meaning 'to receive/bear bitterness/suffering'. Can refer to physical pain, material deprivation, or psychological anguish. Implies a sustained experience of suffering rather than a momentary hurt. Often used to express empathy or describe someone going through a prolonged ordeal. Closely related to 吃苦 (to endure hardship — often implies stoic tolerance as a positive trait, used for difficult effort or deprivation) and 受罪 (to suffer; to be tortured — more emphatic, suggests particularly acute or unjust suffering).

예문

1. 她照顾晚期癌症父亲三年，亲眼看着亲人在病痛中受苦，这也促使她投身姑息治疗研究。
2. 结构性不平等造成的群体受苦，不该被看作命运，而应被视为需要制度纠正的不公。
3. 在极端主义煽动下，长期在贫困中受苦的年轻人最容易被报复叙事吸引。

사용 가이드

맥락: health, social issues, philosophy, family, politics

어조: empathetic

올바른 표현

• 战争不是抽象数字，而是无数家庭在流离失所中受苦的历史，任何美化战争的叙事都是背叛。(War is not abstract numbers, but the history of countless families suffering through displacement, and any narrative that glorifies war is a betrayal.)
• 慢性疼痛患者长期受苦常被低估甚至否认，这种社会和医疗层面的忽视比疼痛更难承受。(The long-term suffering of chronic pain patients is often underestimated or even denied, and this neglect from society and medicine can be harder to bear than the pain itself.)

피해야 할 표현

• 受苦 interchangeably with 吃苦 in all contexts — 吃苦 often carries a positive connotation of enduring hardship through one's own effort and building character (e.g., 吃苦耐劳 — hard-working and enduring), whereas 受苦 is neutral to negative and focuses on the experience of being subjected to suffering, often without choice or benefit; use 吃苦 for stoic voluntary endurance, 受苦 for involuntary or unjust suffering

기원과 역사

受 (to bear; to be subjected to) + 苦 (bitterness; hardship; suffering — 艹 grass + 古 ancient, originally depicting a bitter-tasting plant)

문화적 배경

세대: All ages

사회적 배경: Universal