漢字Kanji · in Action & Movement
欠: lack, gap
Also: fail, yawning radical (no. 76)
Small seal · Qin Today
Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
ケツketsu · on'yomi · in compounds
- 欠員けついんvacancy, vacant position
- 欠点けってんfaults, defect, weakness
- 欠陥けっかんdefect, fault, deficiency
- 出欠しゅっけつpresence or absence
- 補欠ほけつsubstitute, spare, alternate
- 不可欠なふかけつなindispensable, essential
- 欠席するけっせきするbe absent, not attend
- 欠乏するけつぼうするbe short of, lack, want
- 欠如するけつじょするbe short of, lack, want
かけるkakeru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 欠けるかけるbe lacking, be chipped [v.i.]
- 欠かせないかかせないindispensable
かくkaku · kun'yomi
- 欠くかくbe short of, lack, neglect [v.t.]
Also read ケン, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)缶 earthen pot (meaning) + 夬 (sound)
Source: Wiktionary, 缺 (rev. 92012088), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Look at that wide-open mouth! Someone is either so tired they are yawning (akubi) or they are gasping because they are in a state of "lack."”
Connections
Also read ケツ
6 kanji share this on'yomiIn ChineseA Japanese form · Chinese writes 缺 · quē
欠 is a Japanese simplification. Chinese writes 缺 in both simplified and traditional script.
- Simplified
- 缺 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 缺 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin quē most common reading
False friend. Chinese also has a character 欠 (qiàn), but it is a different word. The Chinese for this kanji is 缺.
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.