Chinese symbol for “meager”
薄
bó
meager; slight; weak; ungenerous or unkind
The closest CC-CEDICT match for meager is 薄 (bó), defined as: meager; slight; weak; ungenerous or unkind; frivolous; to despise.
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
Other Chinese words for “meager”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 低微 | dī wēi | meager (wages); humble (social status) |
| 清瘦 | qīng shòu | meager |
| 贫乏 (貧乏) | pín fá | impoverished; lacking |
| 微薄 | wēi bó | scanty; meager |
| 俭薄 (儉薄) | jiǎn bó | meager; poor |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 薄.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 薄弱 | bó ruò | weak; frail |
| 薄膜 | bó mó | membrane; film |
| 薄荷 | bò he | mint (plant); Taiwan pr. [bo4he2] |
| 微薄 | wēi bó | scanty; meager |
| 浅薄 (淺薄) | qiǎn bó | superficial |
| 刻薄 | kè bó | unkind; harsh |
See also: Japanese symbol for “meager”.
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.