困惑|こんわくkonwaku[0]heiban (flat)
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
Definitions
- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbbewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment; discomfiture; bafflementその日彼は困惑した。↗He was bewildered on that day.
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 困惑する（こんわくする） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 困惑します（こんわくします） |
| Negative (nai) | 困惑しない（こんわくしない） |
| polite (masen) | 困惑しません（こんわくしません） |
| classical zu / nu | 困惑せず・困惑せぬ（こんわくせず・こんわくせぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 困惑した（こんわくした） |
| polite (mashita) | 困惑しました（こんわくしました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 困惑しなかった（こんわくしなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 困惑しませんでした（こんわくしませんでした） |
| Te form | 困惑して（こんわくして） |
| Potential | 困惑できる（こんわくできる） |
| Passive | 困惑される（こんわくされる） |
| Causative | 困惑させる（こんわくさせる） |
| Causative passive | 困惑させられる（こんわくさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 困惑すれば（こんわくすれば） |
| tara | 困惑したら（こんわくしたら） |
| Volitional | 困惑しよう（こんわくしよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 困惑しましょう（こんわくしましょう） |
| Imperative | 困惑しろ（こんわくしろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym当惑とうわくWrittenNear 「困惑」 but with a stronger written feel: facing something and being unable to decide how to respond. It does not stress panic.
- Related混迷こんめいWrittenWritten word for a chaotic, unclear situation — mostly politics or affairs, also muddled consciousness or thinking. 「困惑」 is the feeling of not knowing what to do.
- Related戸惑いとまどいNeutralNeutral word for momentarily being at a loss, common in speech; stresses the dazed feeling, as in 「戸惑いを隠せない」.
- Related狼狽ろうばいNeutralNeutral word for panic at an unexpected event; stresses being flustered and frantic — more alarmed than 「困惑」.
- Related惑いまどいWrittenWritten word for being deluded or led astray; stresses an unsettled mind, and is mostly seen in literature.
- Antonym平然へいぜんNeutralNeutral antonym: acting as if nothing had happened, calm and composed — the opposite of 「困惑」, which is being at a loss.
Default 「困惑」: the troubled feeling of not knowing what to do, as in 「困惑の色を浮かべる」. 「当惑」 is written, for indecision; 「戸惑い」 is colloquial, for momentary dazed confusion; 「狼狽」 is panic; 「混迷」 is chaos in affairs or politics; 「惑い」 is literary; 「平然」 is the antonym.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
