Japanese symbol for “destitute”
貧乏
びんぼう
Romaji: binbou
poverty-stricken; destitute; poor; penurious
In Japanese, destitute is 貧乏, read びんぼう (binbou).
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.
Meanings
- adj-na, n, vi poverty-stricken; destitute; poor; penurious
Written forms: 貧乏、貧之. Readings: びんぼう、ビンボー.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “destitute”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乏しい | とぼしい toboshii | meagre; meager; scarce |
| ボンビー | ボンビー bonbii | poor; poverty-stricken; destitute |
| 素寒貧 | すかんぴん sukanpin | penniless; extremely poor; destitute |
| 困窮者 | こんきゅうしゃ konkyuusha | the poor; the needy; the destitute |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 貧困 | ひんこん hinkon | poverty; penury; need |
| 貧しい | まずしい mazushii | poor; needy |
| 貧血 | ひんけつ hinketsu | anemia; anaemia |
| 貧弱 | ひんじゃく hinjaku | poor; meagre; meager |
| 貧富 | ひんぷ hinpu | wealth and poverty; rich and poor |
| 乏しい | とぼしい toboshii | meagre; meager; scarce |
| 欠乏 | けつぼう ketsubou | deficiency; insufficiency; shortage |
| 窮乏 | きゅうぼう kyuubou | poverty; destitution; privation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “destitute”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.