贫穷
pínqióng · HSK 7
poor
💸 贫 = 分 divide + 贝 money: wealth split too thin; 穷 = 穴 cave + 力 force: backed into a cave
Both characters mean poor. 贫 stacks 分 (to split) over 贝 (money/shell) — money divided down to scraps. 穷 sets 力 (effort) under 穴 (cave) — labour driven into a hole, destitute. Sound: pín-qióng, a falling-then-rising pair.
穷 — cave radical 穴 + body 身
Originally written 竆, showing a person (身) bent inside a cave (穴), suggesting being trapped or at the end of one's resources. The meaning extended from 'exhausted' or 'at the limit' to 'poor' or 'impoverished'. The modern simplified form 穷 replaces 身 with 力 (strength).