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贫困 meaning in English

pínkùn

impoverished; poverty

HSK 6adjectiveTraditional 貧困15 strokes

Meaning of 贫困

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

pínkùn
  1. impoverished
  2. poverty

How to use 贫困

贫困 is a formal word used in news, policy and writing about social issues, often describing regions, families or populations. It works as an adjective and also as a noun meaning poverty. Example: 这个地区曾经很贫困。(Zhège dìqū céngjīng hěn pínkùn.) This region used to be very poor.

贫 (pín) means poor and 困 (kùn) means trapped or in difficulty, so 贫困 is being poor and stuck in hardship. Picture 困 as a tree 木 boxed in by 囗, unable to grow, the way poverty traps people.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 贫 (pín) with 贪 (tān, greedy), since both have 贝 at the bottom with a similar top. Also, 困 here is fourth tone kùn, not the neutral tone it often has in 困难 (kùnnan).

贫困 in example sentences

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

阿ā尔ěr及jí利lì亚yà仍réng国guó境jìng贫pín困kùn。
Algeria is still poor.
我wǒ也yě是shì从cóng农nóng村cūn出chū来lái的de，对duì贫pín困kùn有yǒu着zhe切qiè身shēn感gǎn受shòu。
I also come from the countryside, so I have a first-hand understanding of poverty.
这zhè个ge政zhèng策cè的de目mù的dì是shì改gǎi善shàn最zuì贫pín困kùn城chéng市shì的de环huán境jìng。
The aim of this policy is to improve the environment in the poorest cities.
他tā怎zěn么me在zài这zhè样yàng的de贫pín困kùn中zhōng谋móu生shēng？
How did he make his living in such poverty?
圣shèng保bǎo罗luó同tóng时shí是shì全quán世shì界jiè最zuì贫pín困kùn的de城chéng市shì之zhī一yī也yě是shì最zuì富fù有yǒu的de城chéng市shì之zhī一yī。
At the same time, São Paulo is both one of the world's poorest and richest cities.

Stroke order for each character

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

贫 pín · poor · 8 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

困 kùn · to trap · 7 strokes

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

Related words

Words that share a character with 贫困.

困难kùnnandifficult; challenging
困扰kùnrǎoto perplex; to disturb
困惑kùnhuòbewildered; perplexed
困境kùnjìngpredicament; plight
贫穷pínqióngpoor; impoverished
贫富pín fùpoor and rich
被困bèikùnto be trapped; to be stranded
贫民窟pínmínkūslum housing
贫民区pínmínqūslum area; ghetto
贫血pínxuèanemia
受困shòukùntrapped; stranded
贫瘠pínjíbarren; infertile

Questions about 贫困

What does 贫困 mean?

贫困 (pínkùn) means "impoverished; poverty" and is used as a adjective.

How do you write 贫困?

贫困 is made of 2 characters: 贫 (8 strokes), 困 (7 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.

Is 贫困 an HSK word?

Yes. 贫困 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 贫困 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 贫困 is written 貧困.

What is the difference between 贫困 and 贫穷?

Both mean poor, and they often overlap. 贫困 sounds more official and is common in policy terms like 贫困地区 (poor areas) and 贫困人口 (people living in poverty). 贫穷 is slightly more general and literary.

Can I use 贫困 to say I have no money this month?

Not really, it sounds too serious and formal for that. In casual speech say 我这个月没钱了 (wǒ zhège yuè méi qián le) or 我很穷 (wǒ hěn qióng).

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