疲倦

• Pinyin: pí juàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 疲 = 疒 + 皮 (illness + skin — physically drained); 倦 = 亻 + 卷 (person + roll up — a person curled up with weariness)

Meaning

Tired; fatigued; weary. A moderate level of tiredness, and also the sense of being tired of or wearied by something.

More literary and slightly milder than 疲惫. Can describe physical tiredness after exertion or a gradual weariness of something repetitive (感到疲倦 of a routine). 不知疲倦 (tireless, indefatigable) is a positive idiom. Common in written and formal spoken Chinese.

Examples

1. 连日赶路让他感到疲倦，但脑海中对目的地的期待支撑着他继续前行。 Days of travel left him tired, but his anticipation of the destination kept him moving forward.
2. 她对日复一日毫无变化的工作渐感疲倦，开始认真思考是否应该寻求新的职业发展方向。 She gradually grew tired of the unchanging work day after day and began seriously considering whether she should pursue a new career direction.
3. 老人虽已满脸疲倦之色，却仍坚持为孩子们讲完这个故事才肯休息。 Though the elderly man looked exhausted, he insisted on finishing the story for the children before he would rest.

Usage Guide

Context: health, emotion, literary, travel

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 尽管身体已显疲倦，他仍凭借顽强的意志力坚持完成了整场马拉松比赛，令在场观众无不动容。(Although his body was already showing signs of fatigue, he persisted through the entire marathon by sheer willpower, moving everyone present.)
• 他不知疲倦地为社区服务，十余年间从未缺席任何一次义务活动，被邻居们亲切地称为社区的守护者。(He served the community tirelessly, never missing a single volunteer activity in over ten years, and was affectionately called the guardian of the community by his neighbours.)

Don't Say

• 我对这部电影感到疲倦 — 疲倦 in this construction sounds unnatural; use 看腻了 (bored of it) or 对这部电影失去了兴趣 (lost interest) instead

Origin & History

疲 (weary from exertion) + 倦 (tired of continuing) — tired from effort and wearied of going on

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal