You Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Bitter (xīn) Kangxi stroke count: 14 Page 1251, Entry 11 According to the Expanded Rhyme Dictionary (Guangyun), the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), the Rhyme Collection (Yunhui), and the Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun), it is pronounced la. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), that which is extremely bitter is called la. It is commonly written as la, and also appears in a variant form.