憊

bèi

tired, weary, fatigued

Meaning

Exhaustion characterized by depletion or attrition; a state of being "worn thin." While it can describe physical collapse, it frequently carries a psychological or spiritual weight, suggesting a loss of internal reserve.

Grammar and usage

Typically functions as a stative adjective describing a condition. It can also function resultatively, marking the end-point of a process (e.g., having labored or suffered until exhausted).

Distinctions

Distinguished from 疲 (pí), which refers to standard physiological fatigue resulting from exertion, and 倦 (juàn), which suggests languor, drowsiness, or a more passive weariness. 憊 denotes being absolute "spent."

Graphical notes

Contains the component 敝 (bì, meaning ragged or worn out), mirroring the sense of depletion.

Translator notes

Depending on the register of the text, consider "exhausted" (strong), "weary" (literary), or "spent" (visceral). Be alert to an underlying connotation of brokenness or a loss of integrity rather than a simple lack of energy.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.