Correct

贫 vs 穷 vs 贫穷

/ pín vs qíong vs pínqíong /
Strokes

Definition

贫, 穷 and 贫穷 are all Adjectives, which means “poor; impoverished”.

Example

贫 means "poor" and mostly form disyllabic words or phrases, and 贫 is also found in four-word terms.
贫民 (paupers)

贫农 (poor peasant)

贫病交加 (suffer from both poverty and sickness)

一贫如洗 (penniless).
1
shì
zài
pínmín
贫民区
cháng
长大
de
  
,
xiǎoshíhou
小时候
méiyǒu
没有
shàng
guò
xué
  

He grew up in the ghetto and didn't go to school as a child.

2
cóngxiǎo
从小
pín
一贫如洗
  
,
méiyǒu
没有
shòu
guò
jiào
教育
  

He was brought up in penury, without education.

贫 also means "to be lacking in".
贫血 (anemia)

贫油 (oil poor)
3
liǎn
脸色
cāngbái
苍白
  
,
kànlai
看来
xiàng
shì
yǒu
pínxuèzhēng
贫血症
  

Her face was pale and she looked anemic.

4
ge
那个
guójiā
国家
xiàn
发现
le
chāoxíng
超大型
yóutián
油田
  
,
jiāng
即将
bǎituō
摆脱
pínyóu
贫油
guó
de
wèi
地位
  

That country has discovered a super-large oil field and is about to shake off its status as a poor oil country.

穷 also means "poor" and can be used more independently than 贫.
穷人 (the poor)

穷日子 (days of poverty)

由穷变富 (turn from poor to rich).
5
xiǎoshíhou
小时候
jiā
家里
hěn
qíong
  
,
hái
dāng
guò
tónggōng
童工
  

His family was poor when he was a child, and he worked as a child laborer then.

6
Shíxíng
实行
gǎi
改革
kāifàng
开放
zhèng
政策
hòu
以后
  
,
zhège
这个
qíong
cūnzi
村子
zhújiàn
逐渐
lai
起来
le
  

Along with the implement action of reform and opening up policy, the poor village is becoming rich gradually.

贫穷 has the same meaning as 穷 but is more literary and used in abstract or formal situations.
7
Jīngguò
经过
nián
de
fèndòu
奋斗
  
,
zhège
这个
xiàn
jīng
已经
gǎibiàn
改变
le
pínqíong
贫穷
luòhòu
落后
de
miànmào
面貌
  

The county has changed its poverty after a few years of effort.

8
Pínqíong
贫穷
chángcháng
常常
bànsuí
伴随
zhāo
bìng
疾病
  

Poverty is often accompanied by disease.

The opposite of 贫 is 富; the opposite of 穷 is 富 or 阔.
9
Yǒuxiē
有些
rén
zhì
物质
fēng
丰富
  
,
dàn
jīngshén
精神
pín
贫乏
  

Some people are rich in material things but poor in spirit.

10
Hǎn
qíong
de
rén
dìng
一定
qíong
  
,
zhuāng
kuò
de
rén
dìng
一定
kuò
  

Those who say poor are not really poor, and those who pretend to be rich are not really rich.