何苦
hé kǔ · HSK 7
why bother?
何 = why/what + 苦 = bitter, so literally why suffer the bitterness — why bother?
The 苦 (bitter) here means hardship or suffering, the same character as in 辛苦 (toilsome). Pairing why with bitter frames the rhetorical question: what is the point of putting yourself through the trouble?
苦 — grass radical 艹 + 古 (old)
Originally referred to a bitter-tasting plant, with the grass radical 艹 indicating its botanical nature and 古 providing the phonetic element. The meaning extended from the literal bitter taste to figurative senses of hardship, suffering, and painful effort.