厄 è adversity
adversity; difficulty; distress
How it came to be
A cliff with a kneeling figure pressed in under it. There is nowhere for the person to go, and being caught with the rock overhead is the whole character.
How it is used
- Hardship/dire straits - 厄运 (èyùn) misfortune/ill fate, 困厄 (kùn'è) adversity.
- 厄运 is the main word: a run of bad luck or a cruel fate - 遭遇厄运 to meet with disaster.
- Literary register; evokes being trapped by circumstance.