困顿 (kùn dú) — to be exhausted, worn out (from fatigue or hardship); to be in financial straits, to be financially distressed

Definition

A literary verb meaning both 'worn out' (physically, from hardship or toil) and 'in financial straits'. More formal and written than everyday words like 累 or 疲惫 for exhaustion.

verb
to be exhaustedworn out (from fatigue or hardship)to be in financial straitsto be financially distressed

Examples

  • ，困顿。
    Tā lián xù gōng zuò le yì zhōu, gǎn dào fēi cháng kùn dú.
    He worked continuously for a week and felt extremely exhausted.
  • ，困顿。
    Nà jiā gōng sī jīng yíng bú shàn, xiàn rù kùn dú.
    That company was poorly managed and fell into financial straits.
  • 困顿，。
    Tā shén sè kùn dú, sì hū jǐ tiān méi shuì jiào le.
    She looks exhausted, as if she hasn't slept for days.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

困kùnhardship
顿dùnweariness

困 suggests hardship and 顿 suggests weariness; together they describe exhaustion or distress.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 囗囗wéisurround
  • 木木mùwood

困 is drawn as 木 (wood) enclosed by 囗 (surround). The evidence says this was probably the original form of a word meaning 'doorsill'.

Open 困 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頓; 顿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún頓dùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頓 combines 屯, drawn as a kneeling person's head, with 頁, and expresses a bow or kowtow. The simplified 顿 replaces 頁 with 页.

Open 顿 →

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