困扰 meaning in English

kùnrǎo

to perplex; to disturb

HSK 5verbTraditional 困擾14 strokes

Meaning of 困扰

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

kùnrǎo

to perplex
to disturb
to cause complications

How to use 困扰

困扰 describes a lasting worry or problem that troubles someone. It works as a verb (something 困扰 someone) and also as a noun, often in 带来困扰 (cause trouble). Example: 这个问题一直困扰着我。 (Zhège wèntí yīzhí kùnrǎozhe wǒ.) This problem has been bothering me the whole time.

困 (kùn) shows a tree 木 boxed inside 囗, so it is stuck and trapped. 扰 (rǎo) has the hand radical 扌, like a hand that keeps poking at you, so 困扰 is a problem that traps you and keeps bothering you.

Common mistake: Learners often use 困扰 where 打扰 (dǎrǎo) fits. 打扰 is interrupting someone in the moment, as in 打扰一下 (excuse me), while 困扰 is an ongoing mental burden. Also do not confuse 困 with 因 (yīn), which has 大 inside instead of 木.

困扰 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā正zhèng遭zāo受shòu严yán重zhòng头tóu痛tòng的de困kùn扰rǎo。

He was suffering from a bad headache.

遭zāo受shòu心xīn脏zàng病bìng困kùn扰rǎo的de人rén数shù增zēng加jiā了le。

The number of people suffering from heart disease has increased.

这zhè个ge问wèn题tí一yì直zhí困kùn扰rǎo着zhe我wǒ们men，直zhí到dào昨zuó晚wǎn我wǒ们men找zhǎo到dào了le原yuán因yīn并bìng修xiū复fù了le它tā。

This problem was troubling us until last night when we found the cause and fixed it.

许xǔ多duō欧ōu洲zhōu的de大dà都dū市shì饱bǎo受shòu“甜tián甜tián圈quān现xiàn象xiàng”困kùn扰rǎo。

Many of Europe's metropolises are plagued by the donut phenomenon.

你nǐ如rú果guǒ遭zāo受shòu老lǎo鼠shǔ困kùn扰rǎo，可kě以yǐ使shǐ用yòng超chāo音yīn波bō来lái吓xià跑pǎo牠tā们men。

If you have rat or mouse problems, you can scare them off with ultrasound.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

困 kùn · to trap · 7 strokes

扰 rǎo · to poke · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 困扰.

困难	kùnnan	difficult; challenging
打扰	dǎrǎo	to disturb; to bother
干扰	gānrǎo	to disturb; to interfere
贫困	pínkùn	impoverished; poverty
困惑	kùnhuò	bewildered; perplexed
骚扰	sāorǎo	to disturb; to cause a commotion
困境	kùnjìng	predicament; plight
扰乱	rǎoluàn	to disturb; to perturb
被困	bèikùn	to be trapped; to be stranded
性骚扰	xìngsāorǎo	sexual harassment
烦扰	fánrǎo	to bother; to disturb
受困	shòukùn	trapped; stranded

Questions about 困扰

What does 困扰 mean?

困扰 (kùnrǎo) means "to perplex; to disturb" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 困扰?

困扰 is made of 2 characters: 困 (7 strokes), 扰 (7 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.

Is 困扰 an HSK word?

Yes. 困扰 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 困扰 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 困扰 is written 困擾.

What is the difference between 困扰 and 困惑?

困惑 (kùnhuò) means feeling confused or puzzled, usually about something you do not understand. 困扰 is broader and means being troubled or bothered by a problem, such as stress, illness, or a hard situation.

Is 困扰 formal or casual?

It is fairly neutral to slightly formal and is common in writing, news, and serious conversation. In casual speech people may say 烦 (fán) or 让我很头疼 (ràng wǒ hěn tóuténg) instead.