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交困

Mandarin · pinyin jiāo kùn

beset with difficulties

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Characters in this entry

交: jiāo · mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
困: kùn · to surround, besiege; to be surrounded; difficult; hexagram ䷮

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4 · jiao1 kun4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaau1 kwan3

Cantonese word readings for 交困. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to end up in dire straits together
to have all sorts of hardships appear at once

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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