1. Character Basics
2. Pronunciation
3. Meaning
- Sleepy, tired, fatigued
- Trapped, stuck, stranded
- Difficult, hard, challenging
- To surround, to besiege
- To be in a difficult situation
4. Common Words
5. Grammar & Usage
The character "困" is commonly used as an adjective meaning "sleepy" or "trapped", but it can also function as a verb meaning "to trap" or "to besiege". It is often found in compound words that express various states of difficulty or fatigue.
我今天很困，想早点睡觉。(Wǒ jīntiān hěn kùn, xiǎng zǎodiǎn shuìjiào.) - I'm very sleepy today and want to go to bed early.
连续工作了12个小时，他感到非常困乏。(Liánxù gōngzuò le 12 gè xiǎoshí, tā gǎndào fēicháng kùn fá.) - After working continuously for 12 hours, he felt extremely tired.
洪水把村民围困在山上。(Hóngshuǐ bǎ cūnmín wéi kùn zài shān shàng.) - The flood trapped the villagers on the mountain.
我们被困在电梯里了。(Wǒmen bèi kùn zài diàntī lǐ le.) - We are trapped in the elevator.
这个问题很困难，需要仔细思考。(Zhè ge wèntí hěn kùn nán, xūyào zǐxì sīkǎo.) - This problem is very difficult and requires careful thinking.
他现在处于经济困境中。(Tā xiànzài chǔyú jīngjì kùn jìng zhōng.) - He is now in a financial difficulty.
6. Cultural Background
The character "困" has an interesting structure and cultural significance. It consists of a tree (木) inside a mouth (口), which originally represented a tree surrounded by a fence or enclosure. This imagery evolved to represent the concept of being trapped or stuck.
In Chinese culture, the ability to overcome difficulties (困难, kùn nán) is highly valued. There are many proverbs and idioms that use the character "困" to express the idea of overcoming adversity and finding solutions to challenging situations.
One famous idiom is "困兽犹斗" (kùn shòu yóu dòu), which translates to "a trapped beast will still fight" and means that even in desperate situations, people will fight back. Another is "困而知之" (kùn ér zhī zhī), which means "to gain knowledge through hardship" or "to learn from difficulties".
The character "困" also appears in the Chinese term for "poverty" (贫困, pín kùn), reflecting the historical connection between economic hardship and feeling trapped in difficult circumstances.
7. Example Sentence
虽然遇到了很多困难，但我们没有放弃，最终成功地完成了任务。
Although we encountered many difficulties, we didn't give up and finally successfully completed the task.
8. Memory Tips
To remember the character "困", notice its structure: it has a tree (木) inside a mouth (口). You can visualize this as a tree being trapped inside an enclosure, which perfectly represents the meaning of being trapped or stuck.
A helpful mnemonic is to think of "困" as representing "a tree (木) trapped inside a box (口)", which will help you remember both its appearance and its primary meanings of being trapped or experiencing difficulty.
You can also associate the pronunciation (kùn) with the English word "coon" (though not the exact pronunciation, it can serve as a memory hook), and imagine a raccoon (coon) trapped in a box to reinforce the meaning of being stuck or trapped.