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

HSK 2

他蹲在路边等人。

Tā dūn zài lùbiān děng rén.

He squatted by the roadside waiting for someone.

HSK 3

蹲下来，别让他们看见。

Dūn xiàlái, bié ràng tāmen kànjiàn.

Crouch down, don't let them see you.

HSK 7-9

老大爷蹲在门口晒太阳。

Lǎo dàye dūn zài ménkǒu shài tàiyáng.

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).