蹲 (dūn): to squat; to crouch

Meanings

1 to squat; to crouch
2 to stay (in a place); to hang around

Characters

蹲

dūn

to squat; to crouch

Examples

他蹲在路边等人。

Tā dūn zài lùbiān děng rén.

He squatted by the roadside waiting for someone.

蹲下来，别让他们看见。

Dūn xiàlái, bié ràng tāmen kànjiàn.

Crouch down, don't let them see you.

老大爷蹲在门口晒太阳。

Lǎo dàye dūn zài ménkǒu shàitàiyáng.

The old man squatted by the doorway sunbathing.

Tips

culture

Squatting flat-footed is a very common resting posture in China, used while eating, waiting, or chatting. 蹲点 means to be stationed at a place for fieldwork or investigation. A rare dialect reading cún means to sprain a foot or leg from a hard landing; standard Mandarin only uses dūn.

memory

The 足 (foot) radical gives the picture: a foot position, settling down onto your feet.

Components

radical

足 zú

foot; leg

Left foot radical, the indexing component, declaring 蹲 a posture of the legs. Same radical anchors 跑 (run), 跳 (jump), 踢 (kick), the family of leg-driven motions.

phonetic

尊 zūn

honor; wine vessel

Right 尊 supplies the sound (zūn to dūn, a regular initial alternation). 尊 originally pictured two hands offering a tall wine jar; the upright vessel shape adds a faint hint of a gathered, settled posture. Same phonetic in 遵 (obey), 樽 (wine cup).