口含黄柏皮,有苦自己知口含黃柏皮,有苦自己知口含黃柏皮,有苦自己知

holding phellodendron bark in the mouth: only you know the bitterness

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Widely known

Meaning: Said when one suffers hardship that others can't see or share. Close to 'only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches'.
Wordplay: 苦 (kǔ) means both 'bitter taste' and 'suffering'; the bark tastes bitter, and the person's life is bitter too.

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Simplified: 口含黄柏皮,有苦自己知
Traditional (Taiwan): 口含黃柏皮,有苦自己知
Pinyin: kǒu hán huángbò pí,yǒu kǔ zìjǐ zhī
Bopomofo: ㄎㄡˇ ㄏㄢˊ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄅㄛˋ ㄆㄧˊ,ㄧㄡˇ ㄎㄨˇ ㄗˋ ㄐㄧˇ ㄓ

Written with HSK 6 vocabulary, at CEFR level B2.

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