曲 qū / qǔ — bent; crooked; wrong; tune; song
她弹奏了一首优美的曲子。Tā tán zòu le yì shǒu yōu měi de qǔ zi.She played a beautiful tune.
Common words: 歌曲 (gē qǔ)、弯曲 (wān qū)、曲子 (qǔ zi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "bent"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "bent", including 曲 (qū / qǔ), 弯 (wān), 屈 (qū). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "bent" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 曲 (qū / qǔ), 弯 (wān), 屈 (qū) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span qū, qǔ, wān — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 曲 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 曲 qū / qǔbent; crooked; wrong; tune; songUseful words: 歌曲, 弯曲
- 弯 wānbend; bentUseful words: 转弯, 拐弯
- 屈 qūbent; feel wrongedUseful words: 委屈, 屈服
Common words for these 3 "bent" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 曲 (qū / qǔ) — so "bent" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
歌曲gē qǔsong弯曲wān qūto bend; to curve around; curved; crooked曲子qǔ zipoem for singing; tune; music转弯zhuǎn wānto turn; to go around a corner拐弯guǎi wānto go round a curve; to turn a corner; fig. a new direction弯曲wān qūto bend; to curve around; curved; crooked委屈wěi quto feel wronged; to cause sb to feel wronged; grievance屈服qū fúto surrender; to succumb; to yield; (as a transitive verb) to defeat不屈bù qūunyielding; unbending
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "bent".
弯 wān — bend; bent
这条小路弯弯曲曲，通向山顶。Zhè tiáo xiǎo lù wān wān qū qū, tōng xiàng shān dǐng.This path winds and bends up to the mountaintop.
Common words: 转弯 (zhuǎn wān)、拐弯 (guǎi wān)、弯曲 (wān qū)
屈 qū — bent; feel wronged
受了委屈，他忍不住哭了起来。Shòu le wěi qu, tā rěn bu zhù kū le qǐ lái.Feeling wronged, he could not help but cry.
Common words: 委屈 (wěi qu)、屈服 (qū fú)、不屈 (bù qū)
All 3 characters
Open 曲、弯、屈 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.