薄給(はっきゅう)

はっきゅう
noun
low salary, poor pay
work
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(はっきゅう)で働(はたら)いている。
I work for low pay.
薄給(はっきゅう)にもかかわらず、やりがいのある仕事(しごと)だ。
Despite the low salary, it is rewarding work.
介護(かいご)業界(ぎょうかい)は薄給(はっきゅう)激務(げきむ)と言(い)われ、人手不足(ひとでぶそく)が深刻(しんこく)な問題(もんだい)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

薄給(はっきゅう) is the opposite of 高給(こうきゅう) (high salary). The kanji 薄(はく) here means "thin" or "meager." The reading uses the sound change はく → はっ before きゅう.

Often paired with 激務(げきむ) (intense work) as 薄給(はっきゅう)激務(げきむ) to describe demanding jobs with inadequate compensation.

Common collocations

  • 薄給(はっきゅう)で働(はたら)く (work for low pay)
  • 薄給(はっきゅう)激務(げきむ) (low pay and hard work)
  • 薄給(はっきゅう)に耐(た)える (endure low wages)

Similar words

  • 安月給(やすげっきゅう): cheap monthly salary (more colloquial, slightly humorous)
  • 高給(こうきゅう): high salary (antonym)
  • 低賃金(ていちんぎん): low wages (more neutral/formal, often used in policy contexts)
general
Added 2026.2.28 9:44 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
14000/14094_hakkyuu