忆苦思甜
yì kǔ sī tián
to recall hard times so as to value the good ones
Character by character
忆yì
recall
recall
苦kǔ
bitter
bitter
思sī
think of
think of
甜tián
sweet
sweet
Example
奶奶今天特意蒸了窝头，说是带我们忆苦思甜。
Grandma steamed cornbread buns specially today, to make us “remember the bitter and savour the sweet”.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
A 1960s–70s political-education phrase: people told of their suffering before 1949 and ate coarse 忆苦饭. Now mostly said half-jokingly over plain food or when comparing old hardships with today.
Learn this in Lesson 83 · HSK 6–7: 新中国的头三十年 (New China’s first thirty years, 1949–1978)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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