酷 cruel, severe, atrocious, unjust 14 strokes jōyō, taught in secondary school old JLPT 1 #1596 in newspapers Readings Onコク Kunひど.い In Chinese 酷 Words written with it 過酷 かこく severe 残酷 ざんこく cruel N1 酷似 こくじ resembling closely 酷 こく severe 冷酷 れいこく cruelty N1 酷暑 こくしょ intense heat 酷寒 こっかん severe cold 酷評 こくひょう severe criticism 酷使 こくし exploitation