Where does “苦心” come from?

苦心 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 心, from Old Japanese 心, from Proto-Japonic *kəkərə — heart.

苦心 (Japanese): pains, efforts, hard work; make strenuous...

Definitions

  1. pains, efforts, hard work; make strenuous...

Ancestry of “苦心”, step by step

苦心 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 心

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese心mind, heart, spirit, soul; thoughts, ideas;...
2Old Japanese心heart, mind, spirit; emotion, feeling; heart,...
3Proto-Japonic*kəkərəheart

via Japanese 苦

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese苦suffering; dukkha
2Middle Chinese苦—
Every word from Proto-Japonic *kəkərə →Every word from Old Japanese 心 →Every word from Japanese 心 →