1.
low salary, poor pay, meager wages
A salary or wage that is considered low or insufficient. Often used self-deprecatingly about one's own pay, or to describe underpaid positions.
薄給で働いている。
I work for low pay.
薄給にもかかわらず、やりがいのある仕事だ。
Despite the low salary, it is rewarding work.
介護業界は薄給激務と言われ、人手不足が深刻な問題になっている。
The nursing care industry is said to involve low pay and intense work, and the labor shortage has become a serious problem.
USAGE NOTE:
薄給 is the opposite of 高給 (high salary). The kanji 薄 here means "thin" or "meager." The reading uses the sound change はく → はっ before きゅう.
Often paired with 激務 (intense work) as 薄給激務 to describe demanding jobs with inadequate compensation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 薄給で働く (work for low pay)
- 薄給激務 (low pay and hard work)
- 薄給に耐える (endure low wages)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 安月給: cheap monthly salary (more colloquial, slightly humorous)
- 高給: high salary (antonym)
- 低賃金: low wages (more neutral/formal, often used in policy contexts)