累 léi / lěi / lèi — cumbersome; accumulate; implicate; tired
跑了一天，我感到很累。Pǎo le yì tiān, wǒ gǎn dào hěn lèi.After running around all day, I feel very tired.
Common words: 积累 (jī lěi)、累积 (lěi jī)、拖累 (tuō lěi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "tired"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "tired", including 累 (léi / lěi / lèi), 乏 (fá), 辛 (xīn), 倦 (juàn). Study pinyin, English meanings…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "tired" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 累 (léi / lěi / lèi), 乏 (fá), 辛 (xīn), 倦 (juàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span léi, lěi, lèi, fá, xīn, juàn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 累 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 累 léi / lěi / lèicumbersome; accumulate; implicate; tiredUseful words: 积累, 累积
- 乏 fáshort of; tiredUseful words: 缺乏, 贫乏
- 辛 xīn8th heavenly stem; tiredUseful words: 辛苦, 艰辛
- 倦 juàntiredUseful words: 疲倦, 厌倦
Common words for these 4 "tired" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 累 (léi / lěi / lèi) — so "tired" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
积累jī lěito accumulate; accumulation; cumulative; cumulatively累积lěi jīto accumulate拖累tuō lěito encumber; to be a burden on; to implicate缺乏quē fáto lack; to be short of贫乏pín fáimpoverished; lacking; deficient; limited不乏bù fáthere is no lack of辛苦xīn kǔexhausting; hard; tough; arduous艰辛jiān xīnhardships; arduous; difficult辛勤xīn qínhardworking; industrious疲倦pí juànto tire; tired
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 4 ways to say "tired".
乏 fá — short of; tired
他每天都坚持锻炼，从不感到乏味。Tā měi tiān dōu jiān chí duàn liàn, cóng bù gǎn dào fá wèi.He exercises every day and never finds it boring.
Common words: 缺乏 (quē fá)、贫乏 (pín fá)、不乏 (bù fá)
辛 xīn — 8th heavenly stem; tired
父母辛勤工作，把我们养大。Fù mǔ xīn qín gōng zuò, bǎ wǒ men yǎng dà.Our parents work hard to raise us.
Common words: 辛苦 (xīn kǔ)、艰辛 (jiān xīn)、辛勤 (xīn qín)
倦 juàn — tired
学习了一整天，他感到有些疲倦。Xué xí le yì zhěng tiān, tā gǎn dào yǒu xiē pí juàn.After studying all day, he felt a bit tired.
Common words: 疲倦 (pí juàn)、厌倦 (yàn juàn)、不倦 (bù juàn)
All 4 characters
Open 累、乏、辛 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.