Chinese word

贫困

Pronunciation

Pinyinpín kùn

Meaning

  • nounpoverty

Example

很多孩子生活在贫困中。hěn duō hái zi shēng huó zài pín kùn zhōng

Many children live in poverty.

Illustration for 贫困 (poverty)

More examples

政府推出扶贫政策，帮助贫困地区发展产业。zhèng fǔ tuī chū fú pín zhèng cè bāng zhù pín kùn dì qū fā zhǎn chǎn yè

The government introduced poverty-alleviation policies to help impoverished areas develop industries.

Core concept

A sustained shortage of the money and necessities required for a basic standard of living.

Common phrases

  • 摆脱贫困bǎi tuō pín kùn

    escape poverty

  • 消除贫困xiāo chú pín kùn

    eliminate poverty

  • 贫困地区pín kùn dì qū

    impoverished areas

Similar words

贫穷pín qióng: The condition of having little income or wealth and living with few resources.
穷困qióng kùn: A difficult life caused by too little money or too few things needed for daily living.

Definition in Chinese

因经济或生活条件不足而无法满足基本需要的状态。yīn jīng jì huò shēng huó tiáo jiàn bù zú ér wú fǎ mǎn zú jī běn xū yào de zhuàng tài

Word origin

贫 (pín, "poor") + 困 (kùn, "in hardship") forms a compound that connects lacking wealth with the difficult life that lack can create.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this word has a formal, serious tone and appears more naturally in news, public services, and discussions of social conditions than in casual small talk.

Other meanings

  • pooradjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 贫困线pín kùn xiànpoverty linenoun
  • 贫困人口pín kùn rén kǒupeople living in povertynoun
  • 贫困户pín kùn hùimpoverished householdsnoun

Word lists with this word