entries → 苦
TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
苦 character · TOCFL 1 (est.)
苦 ＝ 艸 ＋ 古
ㄎㄨˇ · kǔ
adj — bitter; hard, painful; verb — to suffer

字源 FORM — what the parts do

艸義grass, a plant — written 艹 on top
古聲gǔ — gives the soundthe same 古 under 故、固、枯
{g,k}Igǔ → kǔ — the velar takes on aspiration in this branch
A plant (艸) named by its taste — the original 苦 is a bitter herb. 古 carries the sound, gǔ aspirated to kǔ. From the bitter taste came hardship and suffering, anything bitter to bear: 苦味、辛苦、痛苦.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

嚼一口這種草（艸），滿嘴發苦。
A mouthful of this plant (艸) — and the tongue floods with bitter.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)苦味、苦菜— bitter; a bitter herb常用
→辛苦、痛苦— hard, painful; to suffer常用
⇒苦心、刻苦— painstaking, with hard effort
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
古gǔthe sound parent — 苦 adds grass 艸 above; 古 alone stays "old"枯kūthe 古 series twin — wood 木 dried out; same donor, also aspirated off gǔ