酷 means “cruel, harsh”

こく · koku

Also: severe, atrocious, unjust

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ひどい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コク

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

A sake jar (酉) beside 告, announce: the oldest dictionary says 酷 once described liquor with a strong, heavy taste. Now it is harshness of every kind: 残酷 is cruel, 過酷 brutally hard, and 酷い, usually in kana, simply awful.

Used in 残酷 (zankoku, cruel), 過酷 (kakoku, harsh/grueling), and 酷い (hidoi, terrible/cruel)

More from Bold & Fierce

• 壮 robust
• 敢 daring
• 激 intense
• 厳 strict
• 堅 firm
• 豪 mighty
• 猛 ferocious
• 冒 risk
• 烈 fierce
• 剛 sturdy

Learn 酷 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.