English–Japanese

“poor” in Japanese

Japanese

Also貧しい (mazushii) · 貧乏 (binbō) · かわいそう (kawaisō)

Romajiheta

私は料理が下手です。watashi wa ryō ri ga heta de su

I am poor at cooking.

“Poor” in Japanese is 下手 (heta). 下手 can also mean “bad at ___”.

It presents someone's ability or execution as noticeably lacking the skill needed to do something well.

私は絵が下手です。watashi wa e ga heta de su

I am bad at drawing.

彼は人に頼むのが下手です。kare wa hito ni tano mu no ga heta de su

He is poor at asking people for help.

In everyday conversation, 下手 (heta) usually describes limited skill in an activity, so it can sound more personal when directed at someone else's ability.

mazushii

i-adjectivepoor

彼は貧しい家庭で育ちました。kare wa mazu shi i ka tei de soda chi ma shi ta

He grew up in a poor family.

binbō

na-adjectivepoor

私は今、貧乏です。watashi wa ima bin bō de su

I am poor now.

kawaisō

na-adjectivepoor

あの子がかわいそうです。a no ko ga ka wa i sō de su

I feel sorry for that child.