瘠

jí
疒 + 脊

Definitions

jí barren; lean

Etymology phono-semantic

sickness

Semantic: 疒 Phonetic: 脊

About

The character 瘠 is a phono-semantic compound, with the sickness radical 疒 providing its semantic category and 脊 acting as the phonetic component. It originally described extreme leanness or poor health in people and animals, reflecting the disease-related radical. Its meaning later extended to topography and agriculture, where it primarily describes barren or infertile soil unable to support healthy crop growth. This shift from physical emaciation to ecological infertility illustrates the character’s utility in conveying conditions of depletion and lack of nourishment across different contexts.

Example Sentences Hide

这片土地很贫瘠。

Zhè piàn tǔdì hěn pínjí.

This land is very barren.

贫瘠的土壤难种庄稼。

Pínjí de tǔrǎng nán zhòng zhuāngjia.

Barren soil is difficult for growing crops.

由于土地贫瘠，农民收入很少。

Yóuyú tǔdì pínjí, nóngmín shōurù hěn shǎo.

Due to the barren land, farmers have very little income.

他们努力改善贫瘠的耕地。

Tāmen nǔlì gǎishàn pínjí de gēngdì.

They work hard to improve the barren farmland.

这片山区土地瘠薄，作物产量低。

Zhè piàn shānqū tǔdì jíbó, zuòwù chǎnliàng dī.

The land in this mountainous area is barren and thin, with low crop yields.

科学家研究如何使瘠土变肥沃。

Kēxuéjiā yánjiū rúhé shǐ jítǔ biàn féiwò.

Scientists study how to turn barren soil into fertile soil.

尽管土地瘦瘠，他们仍坚持耕作。

Jǐnguǎn tǔdì shòují, tāmen réng jiānchí gēngzuò.

Although the land is lean and barren, they still persist in farming.

长期过度开发导致土地日益贫瘠。

Chángqī guòdù kāifā dǎozhì tǔdì rìyì pínjí.

Long-term over-exploitation has led to increasingly barren land.

Related Characters

Component: 疒

病 痛 疗 症 疾 疯 疼 疲 疫 癌 瘦 痕 瘤 痴

Component: 脊

嵴 鹡 蹐 鶺 膌

Example Words

贫瘠 瘠薄