苦尽甘来

Pronunciation: kǔ jìn gān lái Literal meaning: Bitterness ends sweetness comes

Origin & Usage

The bitter (苦) exhausted (尽) and the sweet (甘) arriving (来). Both are tastes, and the phrase treats a life as something with a flavour that changes, which is gentler than the English idea of a reward for endurance: nothing is being earned, the bitterness is simply running out. That is why it consoles rather than exhorts. Somebody at the end of a long bad stretch hears it, and it is what an older relative says about a hard few years now finished.

Examples

English: "After years of struggle, success finally arrived."

Chinese: 经过多年奋斗，终于苦尽甘来。