音読み: コン
訓読み: こまる
画数: 7 strokes
部首: 口（くち, opening）
Meaning
Troubled, worried, or distressed. Often used when you are in a difficult situation, in need of help, or unsure of what to do.
- 困る — To be troubled
- 困難 — Difficulty, hardship
- 困惑 — Bewilderment, confusion
- 困窮 — Destitution, extreme poverty
- 困憊 — Exhaustion, fatigue
The character 困 combines a box (囗) enclosing a tree (木), suggesting something being stuck or trapped — symbolizing a difficult or troubling situation. It vividly expresses emotional and practical hardship.
道に 迷って 困っています。
I'm lost and in trouble.
お金が なくて 困っている。
I’m struggling because I have no money.
The kun-yomi こまる is commonly used in everyday conversation to express being in trouble. The on-yomi コン appears in compound words, especially in formal or written contexts like 困難 or 困惑.