受苦
shoù kǔ · HSK 7
to suffer hardship
😣 受苦 = receive + bitter: to receive bitterness is to suffer hardship
受 means receive or endure; 苦 means bitter (the taste, extended to hardship). To receive the bitter is to undergo suffering. 苦 also shows up in 辛苦 (toilsome) and 苦瓜 (bitter melon).
受 — hand 爫 (top) + 冖 + hand 又 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph showing two hands passing an object (the middle 冖 represented a boat or tray) between them. It depicted the act of giving and receiving, so the character meant both 'to give' and 'to receive.' Later 授 was created with the hand radical 扌 to mean 'give,' leaving 受 to mean 'receive' or 'accept.'
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.