苛 means “harsh, torment”

か · ka

Also: scold, chastise

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

いじめる, さいなむ, いらだつ, からい, こまかい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

カ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 8 strokes

The story

Thorny plants (艹) over 可: picture brambles scratching with every step. 苛 is harsh: 苛酷 is cruelly hard, as in 苛酷な労働, 苛立つ is to get irritated, and the いじめ of school bullying can be written 苛め.

Used in 苛酷 (kakoku, harsh/severe), 苛立つ (iradatsu, to get irritated), and 苛烈 (karetsu, fierce)

More from Anger & Scorn

• 喝 shout
• 憤 indignation
• 恨 resent
• 侮 look down on
• 怨 grudge
• 叱 scold
• 嫉 jealousy
• 罵 curse
• 蔑 contempt
• 妬 envy
• 羨 envy
• 嘲 ridicule

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

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