poor
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- 1 poor、impoverished
Describes someone who lacks enough money or material resources to maintain an adequate standard of living.
poor、impoverished
Describes a person, family, or group living in lasting financial or material hardship.
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รัฐบาลช่วยเหลือคนยากจน rátthabaan chûay lʉ̌a khon yâak con The government helps poor people. รัฐบาลช่วยเหลือคนยากจน details
Learning notes
Explanation
ยากจน refers to financial or material poverty, usually as an ongoing condition involving income, assets, or standard of living—not merely having no cash at a particular moment. It can serve as the predicate in เขายากจน (“He is poor”) or modify a noun, as in คนยากจน (“poor people”) and ครอบครัวที่ยากจน (“a poor family”). As is usual in Thai, a direct modifier follows the noun. Although it consists of ยาก and จน, learners should treat ยากจน as a single expression meaning “economically poor.” Adding ความ forms the noun ความยากจน, meaning “poverty.”
Usage
Used to describe the economic circumstances of people or families and in discussions of poverty, welfare, inequality, and financial assistance. It is common in everyday speech as well as news and official writing.
Caution
For simply having no money on hand, ไม่มีเงิน is more natural; for not having enough money for something, use เงินไม่พอ. Because ยากจน suggests an ongoing state of poverty, applying it directly to someone can sound insensitive. It is also not normally used for figurative poverty, such as a lack of ideas or content.
Differences from similar words
1 poor synonyms
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ขัดสน emphasizes being short of money or necessities and struggling to make ends meet. ยากจน more broadly describes a low economic status or standard of living.
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ยากไร้ suggests severe deprivation and often appears in discussions of aid or social hardship. ยากจน is the more general, widely used term for being economically poor.