Taxonomy of meanings for 困:　　

  • 困 kùn (OC: khuuns MC: kʰuon) 苦悶切 去 廣韻：【亂也逃也病之甚也悴也極也苦悶切四 】
    • DIFFICULT
      • ndifficulties; desperate situation; trouble
      • vtoNcausativecause serious difficulties for
      • vtoNface as difficulty, be faced with as troublingCH
    • DISTRESS
      • v[adN]those in distress
      • vibe distressed; feel distressed; be in desperate state; be in straights;
      • vichangeget into trouble, have a hard time 大困
      • vtoNcausativeoccasionally causative vt: cause trouble for, make life difficult for
      • vtoNcausativecause oneself to be distressed
      • vtoNpassivebe troubled by; be distressed; be reduced to trouble
      • vadNpassivedistressed, destitute, in distress
      • vadNdistressing???
      • vtoN1.+VtoN2passivebe troubled by N2DS
      • vt+prep+Nbe distressed with N, be in trouble with respect to NCH
      • vt+prep+Nabbe in trouble regarding Nab; be in distress because of NabCH
      • vtoNputativefind distressingCH
    • LABOUR
      • viactwork desperately hard
    • POOR
      • visuffer acute hardship; LY, MENG 6B15: feel in trouble; SHU, pangeng: feel distress
    • TIRED
      • vibe tired
      • vichangebecome tired
  • 困 kùn (OC: khuuns MC: kʰuon) 苦悶切 去 廣韻：【困古文 】

    Additional information about 困

    說文解字: 【困】，故廬也。从木在囗中。 【苦悶切】 【𣏔】，古文困。

      Criteria
    • RICH

      1. The general word for wealth is fù 富 (ant. pín 貧 "poor"), and the word has a remarkably wide range of syntactic roles.

      2. Sù fēng 素封 is an informal way of referring to substantial private wealth not conferred on one by the state.

      3. Zé 澤 "riches, rich benefits" (ant. kùn 困 "hardship") is largely limited to nominal usages and belongs to an elevated stylistic level.

      4. Yù 裕 "be generous to and make rich" (ant. jiǒng 窘 "impoverish") is marginal to the group.

      5. Ráo 饒 (ant. jí 瘠 "weakened and exhausted") refers to richness of land, and is thus also marginal to the group.

    • DISTRESS

      1. The most representative current general word for distress is probably kùn 困 (ant. ān 安 "be in a good state"), although the group of words discussed here is selected on singularly problematic grounds.

      2. Qióng 窮 (ant. tōng 通 "have a way out from a difficult situation") refers to a form form of distress as something from which it is impossible or hard to escape.

      3. Kǔ 苦 and the much rarer xīn 辛 (ant. lè 樂 "be in a joyful state") refer to a lasting objective state of distress caused by identifiable external conditions.

      4. Shāng 傷 (ant. yuè 悅 ) refers to lasting psychological distress.

      5. Yōu 憂 (ant. xǐ 喜 "joyful occasion") may very occasionally be used to refer not as standardly to worries of some kind, but to an objective state of precarious trouble.

      6. Jiù 疚 refers to purely psychological and often moral distress caused by a bad conscience or the like.

    • POOR

      1. The current general word for poverty is pín 貧 (ant. fù 富 "rich"), but the term does not in general refer to transitory poverty.

      2. Qióng 窮 (ant. fù 富 "rich") refers to an extreme state of destitution, which may, however, be transitory, and the word may also refer not so much to poverty as such as marked lack of expected success, professional failure (ant. dá 達 ); and the word may also refer to persons without regular means of support such as widows and orphans.

      3. Fá 乏 (ant. yù 裕 "abundantly supplied") refers to a shortage in a certain commodity or in a certain specified group of commodities.

      4. Kùn 困 (ant.* kuān 寬 "in comfortable economic circumstances") refers to poverty as constituting serious hardship.

      5. Yuē 約 (ant. chuò 綽 "be abundantly supplied") refers to mild poverty or straightened circumstances.

      6. Jué 絕 refers to temporary poverty viewed as the result of a sudden change of circumstances.

      7. Jié 竭 refers a state of extremely low supply that has come about through a gradual change in circumstances.

      8. Jiǒng 窘 (ant. jǐ 給 "be sufficiently supplied") is a rare word referring to a general state of run-down destitution.

    • SUCCEED

      1. The general word for succeeding is 達 (ant. qiǒ2ng 窮 "get nowhere, have no way out") refers quite simply to "making it".

      2. Tōng 通 (ant. kùn 困 "run into trouble, get into trouble") refers to the achievement of unimpeded progress in what one is trying to do.

      3. Jī 幾 (ant. jiǒng 窘 "get into a hopeless position") refers to an almost complete success.

      4. Jí 及 refers to the successful reaching of a high level.

      5. Dé yì 得意 (liǎo dǎo 潦倒 "end up in a hopeless position") refers to the full achievement of one's highest ambitions or hopes.

      6. Yù 遇 (ant. bù yù 不遇 "fail to succeed") refers to success under certain specific circumstances or by chance.

    • LABOUR

      1. The standard current word for hard work, often commendable assiduous effort, is láo 勞.

      2. Kùn 困 refers to work which is so hard as to be a substantial threat to well-being.

      3. Jìng 競 can occasionally refer to exceedingly hard work, particularly in a competitive spirit.

      Word relations
    • Object: (DISTRESS)患/DISASTER Huàn 患 refers to any major or minor disaster, even down to minor irritations.
    • Assoc: (DISTRESS)窮/DISTRESS Qióng 窮 (ant. tōng 通 "have a way out from a difficult situation") refers to a form form of distress as something from which it is impossible or hard to escape.
    • Assoc: (DISTRESS)貧/POOR The current general word for poverty is pín 貧 (ant. fù 富 "rich"), but the term does not in general refer to transitory poverty.