窮 — “Hard Up / Destitute / Suffer / Perplexed” in Japanese

Master (高手)きゅう, きょう, きわ

Radical ⽳ · radical 116 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Hard Up / Destitute / Suffer / Perplexed” in Japanese is 窮, read kyuu, kyou, kiwa (きゅう, きょう, きわ). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 貧窮 (poverty).

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What does 窮 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	窮
Meaning	Hard Up / Destitute / Suffer / Perplexed
Readings	きゅう, きょう, きわ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	貧窮 (poverty)

How to read 窮

窮 is read kyuu (きゅう) or kyou (きょう) or kiwa (きわ) depending on the word.

Words with 窮

貧窮

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Kanji read the same way as 窮

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28