How to say 'Poor' in Japanese | 貧乏

Wondering how to say 'Poor' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Poor is 'Binbou', written as 貧乏 in Japanese.'Poor' in hiragana is びんぼう.

word

貧乏

Meaning

Poor

Reading

びんぼう

binbou

Kanji

貧Poor 乏Scanty, Scarce

Explanation

The Japanese adjectival noun '貧乏 (びんぼう)' means 'poor' in the sense of lacking financial resources. It describes a state of poverty or being impoverished. This word is often used to describe individuals, families, or situations where there is a lack of money or material wealth. For example: he is poor「彼は貧乏だ」(かれはびんぼうだ). We grew up poor「私たちは貧乏に育った」(わたしたちはびんぼうにそだった). It can also be used in compound words like '貧乏人 (びんぼうにん)' (poor person) or '貧乏生活 (びんぼうせいかつ)' (life of poverty). Note that this word carries a neutral to slightly negative connotation and is not typically used in formal contexts.

Part Of Speech

adjectival noun

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

1784

Composition

kanji

Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 貧乏

This word contains 2 kanji characters:

kanji

貧

Meaning

Poor

kanji

乏

Meaning

Scanty, Scarce

Words Related to 貧乏 Through the Kanji 貧

These 2 Words contain the Kanji 貧 as well.

word

貧しい

Meaning

Poor

word

貧乏人

Meaning

Poor

Words Related to 貧乏 Through the Kanji 乏

These 2 Words contain the Kanji 乏 as well.

word

乏しい

Meaning

Scarce

word

貧乏人

Meaning

Poor

Learn the Word 貧乏

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What does 'Binbou' (貧乏) mean?

'Binbou' means 'Poor' .

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