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Advanced Mandarin Chinese: The Many Meanings of 吃苦 (chīkǔ) with eChineseLearning

3,752 views · Published 1 December 2017 · 9:25 · Indexed 1 November 2026

Channel: eChineseLearning · 2017 · Education

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Today, Teacher Becky will introduce to you how to say whether a food is edible or not. 

吃醋 (chīcù) = to eat vinegar

吃醋 (chīcù) also means "to be jealous". It is used to describe a doubting lover. 

You can read a full lesson, including the ancient story going back to The Tang Dynasty in our full lesson HERE: https://goo.gl/1AmEXA
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亏 (kuī) = to lose money or profit; a deficit

"吃亏 (chīkuī)" means to suffer losses or be at a disadvantage. In this phrase 吃 (chī) doesn't literally mean "eat" food, but rather to "eat" money.
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"吃亏 (chīkuī) is a separable word. Therefore, we can actually use:

"吃大亏 (chīdàkuī)" is the way to say that we are at "a great disadvantage".

"吃点儿小亏 (chī diǎnr xiǎokuī)" is the way to say that we are at "a small disadvantage", or "to suffer a little bit".
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"吃亏是福 (chīkuī shì fú)" = a blessing in disguise

"吃亏是福 (chīkuī shì fú)" is also used to describe not caring too much about losing or winning, or to even give in a bit when necessary to help release tension in relationships or get a good return in the long run.
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"苦 (kǔ)" = bitter

Teacher Becky introduces a trick question: 

Nǐ néng bù néng chīkǔ ne?
你能不能吃苦呢？
Can you eat bitterness?

In this question, 吃苦 (chīkǔ) means to endure hardship.

吃苦 (chīkǔ) is also a separable verb and we can use 吃不料苦 (chī bú liào kǔ) which means we cannot endure hardship.
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You can learn a whole lot more about the everyday uses of 吃 (chī) words in our full lesson here: https://goo.gl/uVAL5F
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