困 kùn sleepy
sleepy; difficulty
How to remember 困: 囗 enclosed + 木 tree = sleepy. Fully enclosed by concrete in the new car park, the young tree finds little water and droops, looking weak and sleepy.
Component breakdown
困 = 囗 enclosed + 木 tree
- 囗 enclosed
- 木 tree
Fully enclosed by concrete in the new car park, the young tree finds little water and droops, looking weak and sleepy.
How it came to be
A tree shut inside an enclosure with no room to grow. The tree is not dying but stuck, which is the word: hemmed in, poor, and too tired to move.
How it is used
- Two distinct jobs. Spoken/adjective: sleepy - 我好困 (wǒ hǎo kùn) I'm so sleepy.
- Bound sense: hemmed-in/stuck - 困难 (kùnnan) difficulty, 困境 (kùnjìng) predicament, 被困 (bèi kùn) trapped.
- So 困难 is about hardship, not tiredness; keep the two readings-in-context apart.
Characters built with 困
Words with 困
Example sentences
- 在困难的条件下他们完成了任务。 Zài kùnnan de tiáojiàn xià tāmen wánchéngle rènwu.They accomplished their mission under difficult conditions.
- 现场的营救工作很困难。 Xiànchǎng de yíngjiù gōngzuò hěn kùnnan.On-the-scene rescue work is very difficult.