胆汁拌黄连，苦上加苦膽汁拌黃連，苦上加苦膽汁拌黃連，苦上加苦

bile mixed with goldthread root: bitter on top of bitter

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Describes a life of extreme suffering, with hardship piled on hardship.
Wordplay: 苦 (kǔ) means both bitter in taste and bitter in suffering.

Sign up for a free account to save sentences and hear them read aloud

Simplified: 胆汁拌黄连，苦上加苦
Traditional (Taiwan): 膽汁拌黃連，苦上加苦
Pinyin: dǎnzhī bàn huánglián, kǔ shàng jiā kǔ
Bopomofo: ㄉㄢˇ ㄓㄅㄢˋ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄢˊ，ㄎㄨˇ ㄕㄤˋ ㄐㄧㄚㄎㄨˇ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

Words in this sentence

Where this sentence is used

Chinese sayings

Sign up for a free Chinese Boost account

Save the words and sentences you find here to your own list, and hear them read aloud. You can export the list to your flashcards whenever you like.

Create a free account

All Chinese example sentences