苦 差

kǔ chāidictionary entry

hard task / difficult mission / arduous and unrewarding undertaking / drudgery / grind / chore

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-48f501de15e8b3c5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

苦差苦差 [ku3 chai1] /hard task/difficult mission/arduous and unrewarding undertaking/drudgery/grind/chore/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

苦
kǔ
bitter / hardship / pain / to suffer / to bring suffering to / painstakingly
差
chā
difference / discrepancy / (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction) / (literary) a little / somewhat / slightly
chà
different / wrong / mistaken / to fall short / to lack / not up to standard / inferior / Taiwan pr. [chā]
chāi
to send (on an errand) / (archaic) person sent on such an errand / job / official post
cī
used in 參差|参差[cēn cī]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.