kwan3 fu2困苦
Jyutpingkwan3 fu2
Yalekwan fú
Definition
Poor and difficult; impoverished, deprived, or living under harsh conditions.
writtendescriptions
How it's used
This term is primarily used in formal or written contexts to describe a state of severe hardship or poverty. In everyday spoken Cantonese, people are much more likely to use 艱難 or 窮 to describe similar situations. Using it in casual conversation can make you sound overly dramatic or like you are reading from a book.
Examples
He lived a very hard life when he was young.
Why do you still want to live this kind of impoverished life?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a verb meaning to feel sleepy, as the character 困 is frequently used in 睏覺 or 眼困. Remember that 困苦 is strictly an adjective describing circumstances, not a physical state of tiredness.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
