Chinese symbol for “destitute”
穷困
qióng kùn
Traditional: 窮困
destitute; wretched poverty
The closest CC-CEDICT match for destitute is 穷困 (qióng kùn), defined as: destitute; wretched poverty.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “destitute”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 穷 (窮) | qióng | poor; destitute |
| 困 | kùn | to trap; to surround |
| 一贫如洗 (一貧如洗) | yī pín rú xǐ | (idiom) penniless; destitute |
| 穷愁 (窮愁) | qióng chóu | destitute; troubled |
| 穷苦 (窮苦) | qióng kǔ | impoverished; destitute |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 穷困.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 贫穷 (貧窮) | pín qióng | poor; impoverished |
| 穷人 (窮人) | qióng rén | poor people; the poor |
| 无穷 (無窮) | wú qióng | endless; boundless |
| 层出不穷 (層出不窮) | céng chū bù qióng | more and more emerge; innumerable succession |
| 穷苦 (窮苦) | qióng kǔ | impoverished; destitute |
| 困难 (困難) | kùn nan | difficult; challenging |
| 贫困 (貧困) | pín kùn | impoverished; poverty |
| 困境 | kùn jìng | predicament; plight |
See also: Japanese symbol for “destitute”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.