Chinese word

窘迫

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiǒng pò

Meaning

  • adjectivehard up

Example

他现在很窘迫，需要帮助。tā xiàn zài hěn jiǒng pò xū yào bāng zhù

He is really hard up right now and needs help.

Illustration for 窘迫 (hard up)

More examples

由于医疗费用高昂，家里变得窘迫，不得不卖房。yóu yú yī liáo fèi yòng gāo áng jiā lǐ biàn de jiǒng pò bù dé bú mài fáng

Because medical expenses were high, the family became hard up and had to sell their house.

Core concept

Severe shortage squeezes a person into a narrow space, leaving too little money or support to manage life comfortably.

Common phrases

  • 经济窘迫jīng jì jiǒng pò

    in financial hardship

  • 处境窘迫chǔ jìng jiǒng pò

    in a difficult situation

Similar words

贫困pín kùn: Having too little income or resources over a long period for life to be properly sustained.
贫穷pín qióng: Having little wealth or income and living with few material comforts.
拮据jié jū: Temporarily having too little money available to cover necessary expenses.
困窘kùn jiǒng: Being pressed by difficult circumstances into a severely strained and distressing situation.

Definition in Chinese

处于物质或经济上严重不足、生活难以维持的状态。chǔ yú wù zhì huò jīng jì shàng yán zhòng bù zú shēng huó nán yǐ wéi chí de zhuàng tài

Word origin

窘 (jiǒng, "distressed") + 迫 (pò, "pressing") presents distress as pressure closing in, which explains the word's sense of severe hardship and an uncomfortable bind.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this adjective has a serious, somewhat formal tone, so it suits careful descriptions of major hardship more than casual comments about a minor problem.

Other meanings

  • povertynoun
  • awkwardadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 窘迫感jiǒng pò gǎnfeeling of hardshipnoun

Word lists with this word