(まず)しい

まずしい
i-adjective
poor, needy
1. poor, needy
Lacking money or material possessions.
(まず)しい(くに)
A poor country.
(まず)しい家庭(かてい)(そだ)った。
I grew up in a poor family.
(まず)しくても(しあわ)せな生活(せいかつ)(おく)っていた。
Even though they were poor, they lived a happy life.
2. meager, lacking
Insufficient in quality or amount.
発想(はっそう)(まず)しい。
The thinking is limited.
(こころ)(まず)しい(ひと)
A spiritually poor person.
内容(ないよう)(まず)しいレポートだ。
It's a report lacking in substance.

(まず)しい is an i-adjective describing poverty or insufficiency.

FORMS:

  • Adverbial: (まず)しく
  • Noun form: (まず)しさ (poverty, poorness)

TWO MEANINGS:
1. Financially poor: (まず)しい家庭(かてい) (poor family)
2. Lacking quality: 発想(はっそう)(まず)しい (lacking imagination)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • (まず)しい生活(せいかつ): impoverished life
  • (まず)しい(くに): poor country
  • (こころ)(まず)しい: spiritually poor/petty

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 貧乏(びんぼう): poor (noun/na-adjective, more colloquial)
  • 貧困(ひんこん): poverty (formal noun)

OPPOSITE:

  • 裕福(ゆうふく): wealthy
  • 金持(かねも)ち: rich person