Chinese word

穷

Pronunciation

Pinyinqióng

Meaning

  • adjectivepoor

Example

他现在很穷，连房租都付不起。tā xiàn zài hěn qióng lián fáng zū dōu fù bù qǐ

He is very poor now and can't even pay the rent.

Illustration for 穷 (poor)

More examples

他失业后穷得要命，只能借钱吃饭。tā shī yè hòu qióng de yào mìng zhǐ néng jiè qián chī fàn

After losing his job, he was extremely poor and could only borrow money to eat.

Core concept

Financial resources are nearly exhausted, leaving little or no room for basic spending.

Common phrases

  • 穷得要命qióng de yào mìng

    extremely poor

  • 穷人qióng rén

    poor person

Similar words

贫穷pín qióng: Lacking money and other resources needed for a stable life.
贫困pín kùn: Living in poor conditions without enough for basic needs.
拮据jié jū: Temporarily short of cash and unable to manage necessary payments.
贫乏pín fá: Lacking enough goods, materials, or other resources.

Definition in Chinese

缺乏足够的财物或生活资源，生活陷入经济困难或拮据的状态。quē fá zú gòu de cái wù huò shēng huó zī yuán shēng huó xiàn rù jīng jì kùn nán huò jié jū de zhuàng tài

Word origin

The simplified form 穷 (qióng, "poor") comes from a character whose early sense was being at the end, a natural path to the modern sense of having no resources left.

Usage tips

  • When describing another person's finances, adding a time or circumstance keeps the statement precise and less blunt, since the condition may be temporary.

Other meanings

  • hard upadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word