BITTER    苦

BASIC BAD FLAVOUR CONTRARY of SWEET.
SHARPACIDACIDICACRIDTARTSOURBITINGUNSWEETENEDVINEGARY
Old Chinese Criteria
[[COMMON/RARE]] [+FIG/LITERAL] [GENERAL/SPECIFIC] [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE] 1. The general word for bitterness is kǔ 苦 (ant. gān 甘 "sweet; tasty"), and this word is often metaphorical. [+FIG], [GENERAL]; [[COMMON]] 2. Xīn 辛 refers to a more peppery, pungent bitterness, taken to be quite different from kǔ 苦, and the word has few metaphorical uses in pre-Buddhist Chinese. [HIGH-DEGREE], [LITERAL] 3. Tú 荼 (ant.* yí 飴 "sweetener") refers to a plant known for its bitterness, and by extension the rare word means "bitter thing". The word is marginal in this group. [SPECIFIC]
Modern Chinese Criteria
苦 is the current modern word for bitter. 苦口 refers to what is bitter to the mouth. 澀 refers to an astringent taste. 澀嘴 refers to what is astringent to the mouth. 苦澀 refers to what is bitter and astringent. 辛辣 辛酸 rough draft to BEGIN TO identify synonym group members for analysis, based on CL etc. 18.11.2003. CH ／
Antonym
  • SWEETFLAVOUR RESEMBLING that of SUGAR.
Hypernym
  • FLAVOUR　APPEARANCE PERCEIVED BY TASTING. (anc: 5/0, child: 3)
  • APPEARANCE　CLEAR:visible BUT SUBJECTIVELY PERCEIVED FEATURES. (anc: 4/0, child: 6)
  • FEATURE　ABSTRACT OBJECT a THING is SAID to BE OR to HAVE. (anc: 3/0, child: 19)
  • A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages ( BUCK 1988) p. 15.37

  • Lateinische Synonyme und Etymologien ( DOEDERLEIN 1840) p.

    acerbus (ant. mitis, suavis) refers to a biting unpleasant bitterness.

    amarus (ant. dulcis) refers to a nauseating unpleasant bitterness.

    mordax refers figuratively to what is bitter, as if biting into one.

  • Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages ( DE VAAN 2008) p.

    amarus 'bitter' [adj. o/a] (P1.+)

    Derivatives: amaritudo 'bitterness' (Varro+), amaror [m.] 'bitter taste' (Lucr.+).

    • Words (4 items)

    苦  kǔ OC: khaaʔ MC: khuo̝ 16 Attributions

    The general word for bitterness is kǔ 苦 (ant. gān 甘 "sweet; tasty"), and this word is heavenly laden with metaphorical potentialities.

      Word relations
    • Ant: 甘/SWEET The current standard word for sweetness is gān 甘, and the word strongly connotes pleasantness of taste rather than just sugary flavour. CQFL: 五味之美也
    • Ant: 甜/SWEET Tián 甜 is rare and denotes sugary sweet flavour as such.
    • Contrast: 痛/PAIN The clearly dominant general word for physical pain is tòng 痛 (ant. shū 舒 "feel well" and wú yàng 無恙 "fail nothing").
    • Assoc: 毒/POISON The current general word for poison is dú 毒.
    • Assoc: 辛/BITTER Xīn 辛 refers to a more peppery, pungent bitterness, and the word has few metaphorical uses in pre-Buddhist Chinese.

      Syntactic words
    • nabfeaturebitternessLZ
    • nmnonreferentialthe bitter; what is bitter
    • vadNbitter; unpleasant to taste
    • vadNfigurativebitter
    • vadVfigurativebitterlyLZ
    • vibe bitter; feel bitter
    • vt+prep+Nbe bitter to
    • vt+prep+Ngradedbe more bitter than
    • vtoNputativefind bitterness in; feel bitter about 
    • vtoNstativebe bitter to 良藥苦舌
    辛  xīn OC: siŋ MC: sin 4 Attributions

    Xīn 辛 refers to a more peppery, pungent bitterness, and the word has few metaphorical uses in pre-Buddhist Chinese.

      Word relations
    • Assoc: 苦/BITTER The general word for bitterness is kǔ 苦 (ant. gān 甘 "sweet; tasty"), and this word is heavenly laden with metaphorical potentialities.

      Syntactic words
    • nsubjectthe pungent; what is pungent; the acid; what is acid
    • vadNbitter; acid
    • vipeppery pungent
    荼  tú OC: laa MC: duo̝ 1 Attribution

    Tú 荼(ant.* yí 飴 "sweetener") refers to a plant known for its bitterness, and by extension the rare word means "bitter thing". The word is marginal in this group.

      Syntactic words
    • nsubjectbitter things CC 荼薺 "bitter and sweet things" SHI 誰謂荼苦？ who says that the t'u plant is bitter,
    • vadNfigurativebitter > suffering, painful
    辛苦  xīn kǔ OC: siŋ khaaʔ MC: sin khuo̝ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • VPibe (quite, very?) bitter