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穷人 meaning in English

qióngrén

poor people; the poor

HSK 4nounTraditional 窮人9 strokes

Meaning of 穷人

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

qióngrén
  1. poor people
  2. the poor

How to use 穷人

穷人 is a neutral, everyday noun for poor people, often contrasted with 富人 (fùrén) rich people. It can mean one poor person or the poor as a group. Example: 他小时候是穷人。(Tā xiǎoshíhou shì qióngrén.) He was poor as a child.

穷 (qióng) means poor, and 人 (rén) means person, so 穷人 is simply a poor person. Picture someone with nothing left, and add 人 to name who they are.

Common mistake: Learners often say 穷人 when they mean an adjective, as in 我很穷人. Use the adjective 穷 instead: 我很穷 (wǒ hěn qióng), I am poor. Also keep the second tone on 穷 (qióng), and do not confuse it with 穹 (qióng), which means sky or vault.

穷人 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

富fù人rén往wǎng往wǎng瞧qiáo不bù起qǐ穷qióng人rén。
The rich are apt to look down upon the poor.
他tā的de客kè人rén多duō是shì穷qióng人rén。
The majority of his clientele are poor people.
富fù人rén和hé穷qióng人rén都dōu怕pà死sǐ。
The rich and the poor are afraid of death.
他tā从cóng未wèi看kàn不bù起qǐ穷qióng人rén。
He never looks down on poor people.
他tā们men不bù都dōu是shì穷qióng人rén。
They are not all poor.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

穷 qióng · poor · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

人 rén · person · 2 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2

Related words

Words that share a character with 穷人.

女人nǚrénwoman
男人nánréna man; a male
别人biérénother people; others; other person
家人jiārénfamily member; (old) servant
病人bìngrénsick person; patient
工人gōngrénworker
老人lǎorénold man or woman; the elderly
有人yǒu rénsomeone; people
人们rénmenpeople
大人dàrenadult; grownup
客人kèrénvisitor; guest; customer
好人hǎoréngood person; healthy person

Questions about 穷人

What does 穷人 mean?

穷人 (qióngrén) means "poor people; the poor" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 穷人?

穷人 is made of 2 characters: 穷 (7 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 穷人 an HSK word?

Yes. 穷人 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 穷人 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 穷人 is written 窮人.

Is 穷人 rude or offensive to say in Chinese?

It is a plain, common word and not a slur, but calling a specific person 穷人 to their face can sound blunt. In formal or polite contexts people often use 贫困人口 (pínkùn rénkǒu) people living in poverty, or 低收入人群 (dī shōurù rénqún) low-income groups.

What is the opposite of 穷人?

The usual opposite is 富人 (fùrén) rich people. In casual speech you will also hear 有钱人 (yǒuqián rén), literally people who have money.

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