困

See also: 睏

困	U+56F0, 困 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-56F0

← 囯
[U+56EF]

CJK Unified Ideographs

囱 →
[U+56F1]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

困 (Kangxi radical 31, 囗+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 田木 (WD) or 難田木 (XWD), four-corner 6090₄, composition ⿴囗木)

Derived characters

梱, 捆, 涃, 悃, 焑, 祵硱, 睏, 稇, 裍, 綑齫, 閫(阃)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 217, character 20
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 4717
Dae Jaweon: page 445, character 3
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 714, character 7
Unihan data for U+56F0

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 困
Shang	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (困) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
硱	kʰɯŋ, kʰuːnʔ
梱	ŋɡuːn, kʰuːnʔ
捆	*kʰuːnʔ
綑	*kʰuːnʔ
閫	*kʰuːnʔ
悃	*kʰuːnʔ
稛	*kʰuːnʔ
裍	*kʰuːnʔ
齫	*kʰuːnʔ
困	*kʰuːns
涃	*kʰuːns

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 囗 (“surround”) + 木 (“wood”). Probably the original form of 梱 (OC *ŋɡuːn, *kʰuːnʔ, “doorsill”) and 閫 (OC *kʰuːnʔ, “doorsill”).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		困

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): kùn (kun⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄣˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): kwan³ / wan³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): khun

(Meixian, Guangdong): kun⁴
Eastern Min (BUC): káung
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): khùn

(Teochew, Peng'im): kung³
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵khuen

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kùn
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄣˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: kùn
  - Wade–Giles: kʻun⁴
  - Yale: kwùn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kuenn
  - Palladius: кунь (kunʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰu̯ən⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: kwan³ / wan³
  - Yale: kwan / wan
  - Cantonese Pinyin: kwan³ / wan³
  - Guangdong Romanization: kuen³ / wen³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʷʰɐn³³/, /wɐn³³/

Note: wan3 - vernacular.

Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khun
  - Hakka Romanization System: kun
  - Hagfa Pinyim: kun⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰun⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: kun⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰun⁵³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: káung
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɑuŋ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khùn
  - Tâi-lô: khùn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: quxn
  - IPA (Taipei): /kʰun¹¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /kʰun⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /kʰun²¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: kung³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khùng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰuŋ²¹³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵khuen
  - MiniDict: khuen^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²khun
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kʰuən³⁴/

Middle Chinese: khwonH

Rime
Character	困
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	魂 (55)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	苦悶切
Baxter	khwonH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰuən^H/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰuon^H/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰuən^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰwən^H/
Li Rong	/kʰuən^H/
Wang Li	/kʰuən^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰuən^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kùn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fan³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*kʰˤu[n]-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*kʰuːns/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	困
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	kùn
Middle Chinese	‹ khwon^H ›
Old Chinese	/*kʰˁu[n]-s/
English	obstruct; distress
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	困
Reading #	1/1
No.	7554
Phonetic component	困
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	困
Old Chinese	/*kʰuːns/

Definitions

困

to surround; to besiege
to be surrounded; to be trapped
困𨋢／困䢂 [Cantonese] ― wan³ lip¹ [Jyutping] ― to be trapped in an elevator
(Cantonese) to lock up; to detain
- 1965, “最緊要好玩 (攪笑版)”, in 最緊要好玩, performed by 許冠傑, 泰迪羅賓, and 徐克:
  
  屋企各人困青山 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
  uk¹ kei² gok³ jan⁴ wan³ cing¹ saan¹ [Jyutping]
  all of my family members are stuck in the loony bin
difficult
47th hexagram of the I Ching
(Teochew, Hainanese) hungry

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 餓 (“hungry”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		飢, 餓
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		餓, 飢餓
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	餓
	Taiwan	餓
	Chengde	餓
	Chifeng	餓
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	餓
	Heihe	餓
	Qiqihar	餓
	Harbin	餓
	Jiamusi	餓
	Baicheng	餓
	Changchun	餓
	Tonghua	餓
	Shenyang	餓
	Jinzhou	餓
	Singapore	餓
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	餓
	Tangshan	餓
	Cangzhou	餓
	Baoding	餓
	Shijiazhuang	餓
	Lijin	飢困
	Jinan	餓
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	餓
	Dandong	餓
	Yantai	餓, 飢困
	Qingdao	餓, 飢困
Central Plains Mandarin	Lingbao	飢
	Jining	餓
	Linfen	飢
	Shangqiu	餓, 飢
	Yuanyang	餓
	Zhengzhou	飢
	Xinyang	餓
	Baihe	餓
	Xi'an	飢, 餓
	Baoji	飢
	Tianshui	餓
	Xining	餓
	Xuzhou	餓
	Fuyang	餓
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	餓
	Lanzhou	餓
	Dunhuang	餓
	Hami	餓
	Ürümqi	餓
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	餓
	Nanchong	餓
	Dazhou	餓
	Hanyuan	餓
	Xichang	餓
	Zigong	餓
	Chongqing	餓
	Wuhan	餓
	Yichang	餓
	Xiangyang	餓
	Tianmen	餓
	Guiyang	餓
	Zunyi	餓
	Bijie	餓
	Liping	餓
	Zhaotong	餓
	Dali	餓
	Kunming	餓
	Mengzi	餓
	Guilin	餓
	Liuzhou	餓
	Jishou	餓
	Changde	餓
	Hanzhong	餓
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	餓
	Yangzhou	餓
	Lianyungang	餓
	Lianshui	餓
	Nantong	餓
	Anqing	餓
	Hefei	餓
	Hong'an	餓
Cantonese	Guangzhou	肚餓, 餓
	Hong Kong	肚餓, 餓
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	肚餓
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	肚餓
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	肚胈餓
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	肚胈餓
	Macau	餓
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	肚餓
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	肚餓
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	肚餓
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	肚餓
	Foshan	肚餓
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	肚餓
	Foshan (Shunde)	餓
	Foshan (Sanshui)	肚餓
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	肚餓
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	餓
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	餓
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	肚餓
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	肚餓
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	肚飢
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	肚餓
	Taishan	肚飢
	Kaiping (Chikan)	肚餓
	Enping (Niujiang)	肚餓
	Heshan (Yayao)	肚餓
	Dongguan	屎肚餓
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	肚餓
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	餓
	Shaoguan	肚餓
	Yunfu	肚餓
	Yangjiang	餓
	Xinyi	肚餓
	Lianjiang	肚餓
	Nanning	肚餓
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	飢
	Hepu (Shatian)	飢, 餓
	Beihai	餓
	Beihai (Nankang)	餓
	Beihai (Yingpan)	飢
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	肚餓
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	肚餓
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	肚餓
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	餓
	Singapore (Guangfu)	餓, 肚餓
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	餓
	Móng Cái	肚餓
Gan	Nanchang	餓
Hakka	Meixian	肚飢, 餓
	Xingning	餓
	Dabu (Xihe)	豺
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	肚胈餓
	Huidong (Daling)	餓
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	肚胈餓
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	肚胈餓
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	餓
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	肚𤸁
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	肚飢, 肚胈餓
	Wuhua (Changbu)	肚胈飢
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	肚𤸁
	Wuhua (Meilin)	𤸁
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	肚飢
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	肚胈餓
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	餓
	Jiexi	肚屎𤸁
	Changting	腹飢, 餓
	Longyan (Yongding)	肚飢
	Longyan (Xiayang, Yongding)	豺
	Longyan (Hukeng, Yongding)	肚飢
	Wuping	肚飢
	Wuping (Pingyu)	肚飢
	Liancheng	腹飢
	Liancheng (Peitian)	腹底飢, 腹飢, 餓
	Liancheng (Juxi)	腹裡飢, 腹飢, 飢
	Liancheng (Zhongbao)	腹飢
	Liancheng (Laiyuan)	腹飢, 餓肚屎, 肚屎空
	Ninghua	腹飢
	Ruijin	肚飢, 肚籮捏飢
	Shicheng	肚飢
	Shangyou (Shexi)	肚飢
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	肚飢, 肚枵
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	肚飢
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	肚屎枵, 肚枵
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	肚飢, 肚屎枵, 肚枵
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	肚屎枵, 肚枵
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	屎肚枵
	Hong Kong	餓
	Sabah (Longchuan)	肚胈餓
	Kuala Lumpur (Dabu)	肚餓
	Senai (Huiyang)	餓
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	肚屎枵, 肚屎飢, 𤸁
	Singkawang	肚屎飢
	Bangkok (Meixian)	肚飢
	Bangkok (Fengshun)	肚𤸁
Huizhou	Shexian	餓
Jin	Taiyuan	餓
	Yangyuan	餓, 飢
	Datong	飢
	Xinzhou	餓
	Lüliang (Lishi)	餓
	Changzhi	飢
	Linhe	餓
	Jining	餓
	Hohhot	餓
	Erenhot	餓, 飢
	Pingshan	餓
	Zhangjiakou	餓
	Handan	餓, 飢
	Linzhou	飢
	Suide	餓
Northern Min	Jian'ou	腹飢, 餓
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	空, 枵 dated
Southern Min	Xiamen	枵
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	腹肚枵
	Quanzhou	枵
	Shishi	枵
	Zhangzhou	枵
	Zhao'an	枵, 腹肚枵
	Taipei (Wanhua)	枵
	Kaohsiung	枵
	Yilan	枵
	Changhua (Lukang)	枵
	Taichung	枵
	Taichung (Wuqi)	枵
	Tainan	枵
	Taitung	枵
	Hsinchu	枵
	Penghu (Magong)	枵
	Penang (Hokkien)	枵
	Singapore (Hokkien)	枵, 腹肚枵
	Manila (Hokkien)	枵, 腹肚枵
	Chaozhou	枵, 肚困, 肚枵
	Shantou	肚困, 枵
	Shantou (Chenghai)	肚困, 枵
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	肚困
	Jieyang	枵
	Haifeng	肚枵
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	枵
	Singapore (Teochew)	肚困, 枵
	Wenchang	肚困
	Haikou	困, 肚困
	Singapore (Hainanese)	困, 肚困
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	肚餓
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	餓, 肚餓
Wu	Shanghai	餓
	Suzhou	餓
	Ningbo	肚飢
	Wenzhou	餓
	Jinhua	肚飢
Xiang	Changsha	餓, 䐬
Xiang	Shuangfeng	肚䐬, 餓 intensified

Compounds

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 困 – see 睏 (“sleepy; tired; to sleep”). (This character is the simplified and variant form of 睏).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

References

“困”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

困

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

trouble

Readings

Go-on: こん (kon, Jōyō)
Kan-on: こん (kon, Jōyō)
Kun: こまる (komaru, 困る, Jōyō)、くるしむ (kurushimu, 困しむ)

Korean

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞n]
Phonetic hangul: [곤]

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

困

Wikisource

困 (eumhun 괴로울 곤 (goeroul gon))

hanja form^? of 곤 (“suffer”)
hanja form^? of 곤 (“surround, besiege”)

Compounds

피곤 (疲困, pigon, “fatigue; weariness; tiredness”)
곤란 (困難, gollan, “trouble; difficulty”)

Vietnamese

Han character

困: Hán Nôm readings: khốn, khuôn

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.