贫 (pín) - poor & impoverished

贫Tone 2

pín ｜ 8 strokes ｜ radical: 贝

柠七

贫 · pín

poor;

impoverished;

deficient;

inadequate;

garrulous (in Buddhist context)

poorimpoverisheddeficient

Usage highlights

povertypoor personanemiapoor soilimpoverished areapoor household

Synonyms

  • 穷— poor, impoverished
  • 困— destitute, in difficulty
  • 乏— lacking, deficient

Antonyms

  • 富— rich, wealthy
  • 裕— abundant, plentiful
  • 足— sufficient, adequate

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He comes from a poor family (贫困家庭).
  • This area lacks water resources (贫水地区).
  • She is anemic (贫血).
  • The soil here is barren (贫瘠的土地).

Collocations

  • poverty(贫困)
  • poor person(贫民)
  • anemia(贫血)
  • poor soil(贫瘠)
  • impoverished area(贫区)
  • poor household(贫困户)

Idioms

  • Poverty gives rise to a desire for change(贫则思变)
  • Poverty and illness come hand in hand(贫病交加)
  • From poverty to wealth(脱贫致富)
  • Poor but with lofty ideals(人穷志不穷)
  • Poor but happy(安贫乐道)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In traditional Chinese culture, poverty was often associated with moral virtue in Confucian thought - the ideal of being 'poor but happy' (安贫乐道).
  • In Buddhist context, '贫' can refer to being 'poor in dharma' or spiritually deficient.
  • Modern usage focuses more on material poverty, with government programs aimed at 'poverty alleviation' (扶贫).

FAQ