寒 hán — cold; poor; to tremble
寒冷的冬天，大家都穿上了厚衣服。Hán lěng de dōng tiān, dà jiā dōu chuān shàng le hòu yī fu.In the cold winter, everyone puts on thick clothes.
Common words: 寒冷 (hán lěng)、寒假 (hán jià)、严寒 (yán hán)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "poor"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "poor", including 寒 (hán), 穷 (qióng), 贫 (pín). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "poor" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 寒 (hán), 穷 (qióng), 贫 (pín) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span hán, qióng, pín — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 寒 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 寒 háncold; poor; to trembleUseful words: 寒冷, 寒假
- 穷 qióngexhausted; poorUseful words: 穷人, 层出不穷
- 贫 pínpoorUseful words: 贫困, 贫乏
Common words for these 3 "poor" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 寒 (hán) — so "poor" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
寒冷hán lěngcold (climate); frigid; very cold寒假hán jiàwinter vacation严寒yán hánbitter cold; severe winter穷人qióng rénpoor people; the poor层出不穷céng chū bù qióngmore and more emerge; innumerable succession; breeding like flies (idiom)无穷无尽wú qióng wú jìn(idiom) endless; boundless; infinite贫困pín kùnimpoverished; poverty贫乏pín fáimpoverished; lacking; deficient; limited贫穷pín qióngpoor; impoverished
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "poor".
穷 qióng — exhausted; poor
他小时候家里很穷。Tā xiǎo shí hou jiā lǐ hěn qióng.His family was very poor when he was young.
Common words: 穷人 (qióng rén)、层出不穷 (céng chū bù qióng)、无穷无尽 (wú qióng wú jìn)
贫 pín — poor
政府帮助贫困的家庭改善生活。Zhèng fǔ bāng zhù pín kùn de jiā tíng gǎi shàn shēng huó.The government helps poor families improve their lives.
Common words: 贫困 (pín kùn)、贫乏 (pín fá)、贫穷 (pín qióng)
All 3 characters
Open 寒、穷、贫 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.