ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

贫 pín poor

poor; needy; impoverished; lacking

How to remember 贫: 分 divide + 贝 sea shell = poor. Every evening the old fisherman divides his catch and the sea shells he sells among six children, and still the family stays poor.

  • HSK 6
  • 8 strokes
  • Radical 贝

Component breakdown

贫 = 分 divide + 贝 sea shell

  • 分 divide
    • 八 eight
    • 刀 knife
  • 贝 sea shell
The Gushi story

Every evening the old fisherman divides his catch and the sea shells he sells among six children, and still the family stays poor.

How it is used

  • Written-register character for poor. 贫穷 (pínqióng) poor, 贫困 (pínkùn) impoverished (贫困地区 poverty-stricken areas), 贫乏 (pínfá) lacking/scanty.
  • 贫 also = deficient in a substance: 贫血 (pínxuè) anemia, 贫瘠 (pínjí) barren land.
  • 贫 is the formal counterpart to spoken 穷 (qióng); you'd say 我很穷 in speech, but write 贫困人口 in a report.

Words with 贫

Example sentences

  • 他很贫穷。 Tā hěn pínqióng.He is very poor.