贫乏 (pínfá): impoverished

Meanings

1 impoverished
2 lacking
3 deficient
4 meager
5 scarce

Characters

贫

Examples

他知识贫乏，需要多读书。

Tā zhīshi pínfá, xūyào duō dúshū.

His knowledge is meager; he needs to read more.

这个地区资源贫乏。

Zhège dìqū zīyuán pínfá.

This region is poor in resources.

Tips

usage

贫乏 is mostly used for abstract or non-material insufficiency: 知识贫乏 (lacking in knowledge), 经验贫乏 (lacking experience), 词汇贫乏 (poor vocabulary), 资源贫乏 (resource-poor). For poverty in the everyday financial sense, use 贫穷 (pínqióng).