貧びん乏ぼう

び

ん

ぼ

う

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

poor; poverty-stricken; destitute

Describes a state of lacking money or resources. Can be used as a noun, na-adjective, or with する to mean 'to live in poverty'.

ぼう

し

た

。

I lived in considerable poverty when I was young.

貧びん乏ぼうUsage96%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
ビンボーUsage4%
- ビンボー
  kana-only spelling
- びんぼう
  Katakana spelling used in casual or emphatic contexts.
びんぼうUsage1%
貧之びんぼう
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; not recommended for learners.

貧まずしい
貧しい is an i-adjective meaning 'poor' or 'meager', often used for abstract or material poverty. 貧乏 is more concrete and colloquial, focusing on financial hardship.
貧ひん困こん
貧困 is a formal noun meaning 'poverty' as a social issue. 貧乏 is more personal and everyday.

Compound of 貧 (hin, 'poverty') and 乏 (bou, 'scarce'). The reading びんぼう is a sound shift from the expected ひんぼう.