苦口婆心 — “To advise or persuade someone with earnestness and patience”
苦口婆心 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to advise or persuade someone with earnestness and patience”. To exhort with great earnestness and good intentions, like a kind mother or grandmother.
苦口婆心 Pronunciation and Pinyin
苦口婆心 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 苦口婆心
Origin and Story of 苦口婆心
During the Spring and Autumn Period, after Confucius and his disciples encountered difficulties while traveling among various states, he eventually returned to Lu State with the help of Ran Qiu.
He chose not to associate with Ji Kangzi. Instead, he dedicated himself to writing, compiling and editing 'The Book of Odes,' 'The Book of History,' 'The Book of Rites,' 'The Book of Music,' and 'The Spring and Autumn Annals.'
Looking back on his life, his travels through various states, his earnest and patient persuasion of rulers, resulted in constant setbacks and impoverished circumstances.
Idioms Related to 苦口婆心
Synonyms of 苦口婆心
Antonyms of 苦口婆心
More idioms starting with 苦
- kǔ苦bù不kě可yán言too bitter to tell
- kǔ苦bù不kān堪yán言too miserable to describe
- kǔ苦bù不liáo聊shēng生live in utter misery
- kǔ苦zhōng中zuò作lè乐find joy in suffering
- kǔ苦lè乐bù不jūn均unequal distribution of joys and sorrows
- kǔ苦lè乐zhī之jìng境realm of suffering and joy
- kǔ苦zhēng争è恶zhàn战fierce and arduous struggle
- kǔ苦kǒu口zhī之yào药unpleasant but beneficial advice
- kǔ苦kǒu口è恶shí石unpleasant but beneficial advice
- kǔ苦kǒu口liáng良yào药Good medicine tastes bitter but cures illness
- kǔ苦kǒu口nì逆ěr耳sincere advice that is unpleasant to hear
- kǔ苦dà大chóu仇shēn深immense suffering and deep hatred
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Open the tool →Questions about 苦口婆心
What does 苦口婆心 mean?
苦口婆心 (kǔ kǒu pó xīn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to advise or persuade someone with earnestness and patience”.
How do you pronounce 苦口婆心?
苦口婆心 is pronounced kǔ kǒu pó xīn in Mandarin Chinese.
Where does 苦口婆心 come from?
苦口婆心 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 苦口婆心?
苦口：反复规劝；婆心：仁慈的心肠。比喻善意而又耐心地劝导。