困

kùn

HSK 4

#866 most

frequent character

to trap, to surround, hard-pressed

verb

adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

困 shows a door frame, 囗, with a central support pole, 木. The bottom line of the frame is the threshold, which was the first meaning. The meaning grew to surround or trap, then hard-pressed and destitute. Later it was borrowed for its sound to mean sleepy or tired.

Drawn as: door frame; central pole

困 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters

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Example Sentences

今天我感到很困。

jīntiān wǒ gǎndào hěn kùn 。

I feel very tired today.

他被困在车里。

tā bèi kùnzài chē lǐ 。

He is trapped in the car.

我做这个项目感到有些困。

wǒ zuò zhègè xiàngmù gǎndào yǒuxiē kùn 。

I feel a bit hard-pressed working on this project.

Words with similar meanings

Indicates a state of being very tired, often after exertion.

Conveys a sense of weariness, often associated with physical or mental fatigue.

Words Starting With 困

(financial etc) difficulty; problem; issue

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Public Lists with 困

Feelings & Emotions

Vocabulary for happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love, excitement, etc.

Common Adjectives

Descriptive words for size, quality, temperature, mood, and more.

All words for the HSK 4 test