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睏 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
睏kùnto surround; to besiege; surrounded, in distress; poor; tired, sleepyzg, 12 strokes, radical 目, rank #44374, Very Hard
kùn(kun4) T4
  1. 1to surround; to besiege; surrounded, in distress; poor; tired, sleepy
Listen to the audio pronunciation 3 times to gain XP
March 24, 2026

睏kùn(kun4)

The character 睏 (kùn) primarily means 'to be sleepy' or 'tired'. It can also imply a state of being surrounded or besieged, often used figuratively to describe feeling overwhelmed or distressed. Common contexts include discussions about fatigue or when one feels burdened by circumstances.

Strokes12Radical目Frequency#44374DifficultyVery Hard
Cultural Note

In Chinese culture, being '睡不醒' (unable to wake up) is often humorously acknowledged, especially among students and workers who pull late nights. The concept of fatigue is frequently expressed in idiomatic phrases.

Memory Tip

Imagine a person feeling so sleepy that they are surrounded by pillows (the character's structure suggests being encircled) and can’t escape the comfort—this represents both the feeling of tiredness and being overwhelmed.

Meanings of 睏

kùn(kun4)
1to surround; to besiege; surrounded, in distress; poor; tired, sleepy
Exercise 1 of 2

Listen & Choose the Meaning

Choose the correct answer:

About 睏

睏Simplified
12Strokes
目Radical
状态词stative word (stat.)Part of Speech
#—Frequency Rank

Podcast: 睏

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Podcast: 睏

Listen to Jason & Amy break down this word for you

AI Study Notes for 睏

Quick Contrast

困 (kùn) vs 疲 (pí) — use 睏 (kùn) specifically for sleepiness, while 疲 (pí) denotes general fatigue.

Usage Notes

Learners often confuse 睏 (kùn) with the similar-sounding困 (kùn), which means 'to be in a difficult situation'. Be careful with the tone, as 睏 is pronounced with a falling tone. Common collocations include 睏得很 (very sleepy) or 睏得不行 (extremely tired).

HSK Study Tips

Although 睏 is not part of the official HSK vocabulary, it is useful for HSK Level 3 students who are learning about emotions and states of being. Focus on its usage in sentences related to feelings of tiredness or being overwhelmed.

Common Mistakes

Learners sometimes use 睏 incorrectly in contexts where they mean 'trapped' or 'stuck', confusing it with 困 (kùn). For example, saying '我感到睏在家里' should be corrected to '我感到困在家里' (I feel stuck at home).

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 睏

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Etymology of 睏

Formation Typepictophonetic
六书 ClassificationPhono-semantic (形声字)~80-90% of characters
Explanation

Depicts a tree (木) being surrounded (囗).

Semantic (meaning)目
+
Phonetic (sound)困
Learn more about Phono-semantic (形声字) characters

Jason Etymology Detective

Case file: 睏

Depicts a tree (木) being surrounded (囗).

  1. 1The meaning half目 carries the sense.
  2. 2The sound half困 is there for the reading, not the meaning.
  3. 3On the record aspictophonetic.

Every clue here comes from the character's recorded structure — nothing is guessed.

Want the full history of 睏? Jason searches the paleographic record, weighs the competing accounts and judges the popular story.

Charged once for this character — everyone reads it afterwards.
Exercise 1 of 1

Character Formation Type

What type of character formation is 睏?

Decomposition of 睏

IDS Structure⿰目困
睏Full Character
=
目mu4
left
困kun4
right
Exercise 1 of 2

Identify the Components

Which of these is a component of 睏?

How to say to surround; to besiege; surrounded, in distress; poor; tired, sleepy in Chinese

“to surround; to besiege; surrounded, in distress; poor; tired, sleepy” in Chinese is睏kùn

The character 睏 (kùn) primarily means 'to be sleepy' or 'tired'. It can also imply a state of being surrounded or besieged, often used figuratively to describe feeling overwhelmed or distressed. Common contexts include discussions about fatigue or when one feels burdened by circumstances.

When to use 睏

Learners often confuse 睏 (kùn) with the similar-sounding困 (kùn), which means 'to be in a difficult situation'. Be careful with the tone, as 睏 is pronounced with a falling tone. Common collocations include 睏得很 (very sleepy) or 睏得不行 (extremely tired).

睏 or something close to it

困 (kùn) vs 疲 (pí) — use 睏 (kùn) specifically for sleepiness, while 疲 (pí) denotes general fatigue.

What learners get wrong

Learners sometimes use 睏 incorrectly in contexts where they mean 'trapped' or 'stuck', confusing it with 困 (kùn). For example, saying '我感到睏在家里' should be corrected to '我感到困在家里' (I feel stuck at home).

Write 睏

睏

Practice writing 睏 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

Write correctly 3 times to earn XP

Word Family of 睏

Words Containing This Character20
困难kùnnandifficult困難
困kùnto trap
困扰kùnrǎoto perplex困擾
贫困pínkùnpoverty貧困
困惑kùnhuòbewildered
困境kùnjìngplight
穷困destitute窮困
围困to besiege圍困
困苦deprivation
犯困(coll.) to get sleepy犯睏
困窘embarrassment
困倦tired
困顿fatigued困頓
扶贫济困to help the poor扶貧濟困
困厄in deep water
困觉(dialect) to sleep睏覺
春困spring fatigue
扶危济困to help those in distress (idiom)扶危濟困
困守to stand a siege
发困to get sleepy發睏
Exercise 1 of 4

Compound Meaning

What does 困难 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions about 睏

You can say '我今天很睏' which means 'I am very sleepy today.'

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