貧

Phono-semantic compound.

The character combines 貝 (“shell, money, wealth”) as the semantic component and 分 (“to divide, to share”) as the phonetic.

In early script explanations, scholars also interpreted it ideographically as “when wealth (貝) is divided (分), poverty results.”

Thus, 貧 expresses the condition of having one’s wealth divided or insufficient.

In the Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), 貧 is glossed as 「乏也」—“to be lacking.”

빈곤(貧困) — poverty, destitution

빈부(貧富) — the poor and the rich

빈약(貧弱) — weak, meager, lacking in strength or resources

빈민(貧民) — the poor, common people

빈자(貧者) — a poor person

빈궁(貧窮) — extreme poverty

빈핍(貧乏) — destitution, deprivation

It originally denoted material want, but later extended to moral humility or spiritual poverty, as in Confucian and Buddhist contexts emphasizing simplicity and virtue over wealth.

In idiomatic or moral contexts, 貧 may carry a positive tone of humility or unattachment, as in Buddhist expressions extolling “the virtue of simplicity (貧而樂道)” — “being poor yet joyful in the Way.”

貧 reflects a fundamental human and ethical condition — not merely material want but the awareness of limitation and moderation.

Across East Asian philosophy, it has come to represent humility, restraint, and balance as much as economic poverty.