HSK 4 · Adjectives

穷 qióng “poor” in Chinese

Traditional 窮

What 穷 means

  1. poor
  2. destitute
  3. to use up
  4. to exhaust
  5. thoroughly
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • extremely

How to say 穷

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale穷qióng2nd tone, rising

穷 in a sentence

  1. 我们穷，但是很快乐。

    Wǒmen qióng, dànshì hěn kuàilè.

    We’re poor, but we’re happy.

    Sentence #2091842 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 不要因为他穷就看不起他。

    Búyào yīnwèi tā qióng jiù kànbuqǐ tā.

    Don’t look down on him just because he’s poor.

    Sentence #1329545 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 我从前和你一样穷。

    Wǒ cóngqián hé nǐ yíyàng qióng.

    I used to be as poor as you.

    Sentence #10269063 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 穷 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 穷 (qióng) with each of its parts in a different colour
穷qióngpoor
  • 穴cave · xué
  • 力strength · lì

How to write 穷

穷 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

穷 (qióng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 穷 (qióng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 穷

Words with 穷

无穷无尽wúqióngwújìn · endless层出不穷céngchūbùqióng · to emerge one after another

More words: Adjectives

耐心nàixīn · to be patient暖和nuǎnhuo · warm普遍pǔbiàn · universal轻松qīngsōng · relaxed热闹rènao · bustling with noise and excitement深shēn · deep实际shíjì · actual帅shuài · handsome

FAQs

穷 (qióng) means “poor” or “destitute”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it qióng: qióng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 穷 is written 窮. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type qiong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 穷 from the suggestions. Typing qiong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
穷 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.