痛苦

The Chinese word 痛苦 (tòngkǔ) for "pain" or "suffering" is composed of two characters: 痛 (tòng) and 苦 (kǔ). The character 痛 originally meant "to be wounded" or "to feel pain," and it is composed of the radical 疒 (chuáng), which indicates illness or disease, and the phonetic component 甬 (yǒng). The character 苦 originally meant "bitter" or "difficult," and it is composed of the radical 艹 (cǎo), which indicates plants or vegetation, and the phonetic component 古 (gǔ). When combined, the two characters 痛 and 苦 form the compound word 痛苦, which takes on the meaning of "pain" or "suffering." This combination of characters effectively conveys the idea of both physical and emotional distress, capturing the essence of the experience of pain and suffering.