JLPT N3Proverbs

良薬は口に苦し

Meaning
ためになる忠告は聞きづらいが自分のためになる
Explanation
「良薬は口に苦し」 teaches that, just as effective medicine is bitter, advice that is good for you is hard to hear, but accepting it benefits you. It is not c1's talk about the medicine itself, that 「苦くないと効かない」 (it won't work unless it's bitter).
Original Japanese explanation

「良薬は口に苦し」は、よく効く薬が苦いように、自分のためになる忠告は聞くのがつらいけれど、受け入れれば自分のためになるという教えです。c1 の「苦くないと効かない」という薬そのものの話ではありません。

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