困

kùn

adjective HSK 3 #1,765

Meanings

A tree (木) enclosed in a box (囗) — a tree trapped in a confined space.

Wǒ hǎo kùn, xiǎng shuìjiào.

I'm so sleepy, I want to sleep.

Tā bèi kùn zài diàntī lǐ le.

He was trapped in the elevator.

Xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn zuì kùn.

2 PM is when you're sleepiest.

history

The character 困 shows a tree 木 enclosed in a box 囗 — a tree confined in a small space. This gives the meanings of being trapped and exhausted.

usage

困 meaning 'sleepy' is very common in daily speech: 我困了 (I'm sleepy). For 'trapped,' it often appears in the passive pattern: 被困 (bèi kùn).

困 kùn