Kanji 窮: hard up, destitute, suffer, perplexed, cornered

Key takeaways

Kanji 窮: hard up, destitute, suffer, perplexed, cornered. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

窮

Meaning

hard updestitutesufferperplexedcornered

On reading

キュウキョウ

Kun reading

きわ.めるきわ.まるきわ.まりきわ.み

Radical

穴

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 窮

hard up, destitute, suffer, perplexed, cornered

Kanji structure breakdown

窮

Structure breakdown

穴 + 躬

Mnemonic story

Imagine a body (躬) bent and trapped inside a narrow hole (穴). Being stuck in such a tight space represents a state of being destitute, cornered, or stifled.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

キュウ

窮屈きゅうくつ
tight / narrow / stiff / constrained
窮乏きゅうぼう
poverty / destitution

Commonly used words

窮屈
きゅうくつ
tight / narrow / stiff / constrained
窮乏
きゅうぼう
poverty / destitution

Example sentences

Example 1

この服はちょっと窮屈に感じる。

Translation

This clothing feels a bit tight.

Example 2

会議の雰囲気が窮屈だった。

Translation

The atmosphere of the meeting was stiff.

Example 3

戦後、日本は深い窮乏にあった。

Translation

After the war, Japan was in deep poverty.

Example 4

窮乏から抜け出すために努力した。

Translation

I worked hard to escape destitution.

Kanji 窮: hard up, destitute, suffer, perplexed, cornered

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

窮屈 (きゅうくつ): meaning and examples

窮乏 (きゅうぼう): meaning and examples