欠

See also: 缺 and 久

欠	U+6B20, 欠 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6B20

← 欟
[U+6B1F]

CJK Unified Ideographs

次 →
[U+6B21]

⽋	U+2F4B, ⽋ KANGXI RADICAL LACK

← ⽊
[U+2F4A]

Kangxi Radicals

⽌ →
[U+2F4C]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character[edit]

See images of
Radical 76 欠

欠 (Kangxi radical 76, 欠+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 弓人 (NO), four-corner 2780₂, composition ⿱⺈人)

Kangxi radical #76, ⽋.

Derived characters[edit]

Appendix:Chinese radical/欠
㐸, 吹, 坎, 𫰑, 𢁧, 弞, 𢓑, 忺, 扻, 㳄, 𤝆, 𬮼, 杴, 𣧋, 𣬴, 炊, 㸝, 𤘯, 𤜹, 㺵, 肷, 𥎯, 砍, 𮂸, 𪉁, 𥸷, 䊻, 缼, 𫆁, 𦥞, 𢆘, 㰷, 𮗦, 䚿, 赥, 赼, 𧿞, 軟(软), 𨠅, 𨱟, 𮮅, 欽(钦), 𣶙, 𩉢, 𩎗, 飲(飮, 饮), 𮩹, 䯉, 𩲟, 𨖯, 𣿁, 𩵢, 𫜌, 𪌒, 𨼤, 𠏩, 𠿖, 𪕆, 𡁍, 𪖗, 𢸈, 𮯀, 𬩠, 𦆃, 龡
𭤠, 𣪄, 𤝀, 芡, 䇜, 𢇣, 𤴼, 𮤉, 𣪳, 𭒖, 𤡻, 𭹒, 𤪵, 𬫘, 𭗊, 𮐁, 𬞢, 𥴋, 𭆇, 𠩼, 𭆣, 𭞗, 𣆾, 燞, 𤩤, 𨍁, 䪠, 𩐆, 𩞺, 𣣬

References[edit]

Kangxi Dictionary: page 565, character 1
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 15991
Dae Jaweon: page 953, character 35
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2133, character 1
Unihan data for U+6B20

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.		欠
alternative forms		㐸

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 欠
Shang	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (欠) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
坎	kʰoːmʔ, kʰoːms
扻	*kʰoːmʔ
砍	*kʰoːmʔ
芡	*ɡromʔ
欠	*kʰoms
杴	*qʰom
鍁	*qʰam

Pictogram (象形) – a kneeling person with mouth open.

The reversed version of this character is 㒫 > 旡 (e.g. 既), which must not be confused with 无.

Pronunciation[edit]

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qiàn (qian⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢˋ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): him³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): him¹
Gan (Wiktionary): qien³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): khiam

(Meixian, Guangdong): kiam⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): qie³
Northern Min (KCR): ki̿ng
Eastern Min (BUC): kiéng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): khiàm

(Teochew, Peng'im): kiam³ / kiêm³ / kiang³
Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ⁵chi
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): qienn⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiàn
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ciàn
  - Wade–Giles: chʻien⁴
  - Yale: chyàn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chiann
  - Palladius: цянь (cjanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: him³
  - Yale: him
  - Cantonese Pinyin: him³
  - Guangdong Romanization: him³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiːm³³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: him¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /him³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: qien³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiɛn²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khiam
  - Hakka Romanization System: kiam
  - Hagfa Pinyim: kiam⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰi̯am⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: kiam⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰiam⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: qie³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡ɕʰie⁴⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ki̿ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰiŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: kiéng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰiɛŋ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khiàm
  - Tâi-lô: khiàm
  - Phofsit Daibuun: qiaxm
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /kʰiam⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /kʰiam²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /kʰiam¹¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: kiam³ / kiêm³ / kiang³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khiàm / khièm / khiàng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰiam²¹³/, /kʰiem²¹³/, /kʰiaŋ²¹³/

Note:

kiam3 - Shantou, Chaoyang, Jieyang, Raoping;
kiêm3 - Chaozhou;
kiang3 - Chenghai.

Wu
- (Shanghai):
  - Wugniu: ⁵chi
  - MiniDict: chi^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²qi
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕʰi³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: qienn⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ẽ⁴⁵/

Middle Chinese: khjaemH

Rime
Character	欠
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	嚴 (145)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	去劔切
Baxter	khjaemH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰɨɐm^H/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰiɐm^H/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰiɐm^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰɨam^H/
Li Rong	/kʰiɐm^H/
Wang Li	/kʰĭɐm^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰi̯ɐm^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qiàn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	him³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ʰ(r)om-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*kʰoms/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	欠
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qiàn
Middle Chinese	‹ khjom^H ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ʰ(r)om-s/
English	yawn
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	欠
Reading #	1/1
No.	10274
Phonetic component	欠
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*kʰoms/
Notes	原列梵韻依王韻改釅

Definitions[edit]

欠

to lack; to be deficient
to owe
to ask for; to beg for
欠揍 ― qiànzòu ― asking for a beating
(Mandarin) to yawn
(Mandarin) to raise slightly (a part of the body)
(Mandarin, dialectal) to be fidgety and bungling
(Wuhan Mandarin) to miss somebody

Synonyms[edit]

(to lack):

不夠／不够 (bùgòu)
不敷 (bùfū) (literary)
不滿／不满 (bùmǎn)
不足 (bùzú)
乏達／乏达 (Quanzhou Hokkien)
匱乏／匮乏 (kuìfá)
欠缺 (qiànquē)
短少 (duǎnshǎo)
短缺 (duǎnquē)
絕乏／绝乏 (juéfá) (literary)
缺乏 (quēfá)
缺如 (quērú) (literary)
缺少 (quēshǎo)
缺欠 (quēqiàn)
缺缺 (Xiamen Hokkien)
虧／亏 (kuī)
貧／贫 (pín) (literary, or in compounds)
闕乏／阙乏 (quēfá) (literary)
闕如／阙如 (quērú) (literary)

(to owe):

Dialectal synonyms of 欠 (“to owe”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		欠
Mandarin	Beijing	該, 欠
	Taiwan	欠
	Harbin	欠, 該
	Yantai (Muping)	欠, 該
	Jinan	該, 欠, 短
	Luoyang	欠, 該, 爭
	Xi'an	爭, 該
	Yinchuan	欠, 該
	Xining	欠, 該
	Ürümqi	欠, 該, 短
	Wuhan	該, 差
	Chengdu	爭, 該, 欠
	Guiyang	爭, 該, 欠
	Guilin	欠
	Xuzhou	少, 該
	Yangzhou	差, 該, 空
	Nanjing	空, 該, 欠
	Hefei	該, 差
	Malaysia	欠
	Singapore	欠
Cantonese	Guangzhou	爭, 欠
	Hong Kong	爭, 欠
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	爭
	Macau	爭
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	爭
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	爭
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	爭
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	爭
	Foshan	爭
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	爭
	Foshan (Shunde)	爭
	Foshan (Sanshui)	爭
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	欠
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	爭
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	爭
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	欠
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	爭
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	爭
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	爭
	Taishan	爭
	Kaiping (Chikan)	爭
	Enping (Niujiang)	爭
	Heshan (Yayao)	爭
	Dongguan	爭
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	爭
	Yangjiang	欠, 爭
	Nanning	爭
	Yulin	爭
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	爭
Gan	Nanchang	該
	Lichuan	欠, 該
	Pingxiang	差, 少
Hakka	Meixian	欠, 爭
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	少
	Huiyang	少, 爭
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	爭
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	爭
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	差
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	欠
	Liannan	欠
	Conghua (Lütian)	欠, 爭
	Jiexi	欠
	Changting	欠
	Wuping	少
	Ninghua	欠
	Yudu	欠
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	欠
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	欠
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	欠
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	欠
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	欠
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	欠
	Hong Kong	爭
Huizhou	Jixi	欠
Jin	Taiyuan	該, 短
Jin	Xinzhou	該, 短
Northern Min	Jian'ou	欠
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	欠
Southern Min	Xiamen	欠
	Quanzhou	欠
	Zhangzhou	欠
	Taipei	欠 GT
	Singapore (Hokkien)	欠
	Manila (Hokkien)	欠
	Chaozhou	欠
	Shantou	欠
	Singapore (Teochew)	欠
	Leizhou	欠, 該
	Haikou	欠
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	欠
Wu	Shanghai (Chongming)	欠, 該
	Suzhou	欠
	Danyang	欠
	Hangzhou	欠
	Wenzhou	欠, 爭
	Jinhua	欠
Xiang	Changsha	該, 欠
	Loudi	欠
	Shuangfeng	欠, 該
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Compounds[edit]

七拖八欠
下欠
兩不相欠／两不相欠 (liǎngbùxiāngqiàn)
只欠東風／只欠东风
呵欠 (hēqiàn)
呵欠連天／呵欠连天
哈欠 (hāqiàn)
嘴欠 (zuǐqiàn)
外欠
官欠
尾欠
懸欠／悬欠
手欠 (shǒuqiàn)
打呵欠 (dǎ hēqiàn)
打哈欠 (dǎ hāqian)
拖欠 (tuōqiàn)
掛欠／挂欠
撇欠
欠事
欠伸 (qiànshēn)
欠佳 (qiànjiā)
欠債／欠债 (qiànzhài)
欠債還錢／欠债还钱
欠奉
欠契
欠好
欠妥 (qiàntuǒ)
欠安 (qiàn'ān)
欠少
欠情
欠打 (qiàndǎ)
欠揍 (qiànzòu)
欠據／欠据 (qiànjù)
欠收
欠格 (qiàngé, “abessive case”)
欠條／欠条 (qiàntiáo)
欠款 (qiànkuǎn)
欠火
欠當／欠当
欠租
欠稅／欠税
欠繳／欠缴
欠缺 (qiànquē)
欠薪 (qiànxīn)
欠資／欠资 (qiànzī)
欠資郵票／欠资邮票
欠身 (qiànshēn)
短欠
積欠／积欠
索欠
缺欠 (quēqiàn)
落虧欠／落亏欠
虧欠／亏欠 (kuīqiàn)
賒欠／赊欠 (shēqiàn)
風欠／风欠

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

欠

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

yawn
lack

Readings[edit]

Go-on: こん (kon)
Kan-on: けん (ken)
Kun: あくび (akubi, 欠)

Compounds[edit]

欠伸(あくび) (akubi, “yawn”)

Kanji[edit]

Shinjitai	欠
Kyūjitai	缺

欠

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 缺)

lack, shortage
to be absent
vacancy

Readings[edit]

Kan’yō-on: けち (kechi); けつ (ketsu, Jōyō)
Kun: かく (kaku, 欠く, Jōyō); かける (kakeru, 欠ける, Jōyō)

Usage notes[edit]

In modern Japanese, 欠(けつ) (ketsu) is used to spell words that etymologically feature 缺(けつ) (ketsu), for example 欠(けっ)席(せき) (kesseki) < 缺(けっ)席(せき) (kesseki). The above mentioned kanji 欠(けん) (ken) is uncommon and its most notable usage is in the word 欠(けん)缺(けつ) (kenketsu), which features both kanji.

Compounds[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Kanji in this term
欠
あくび Grade: 4
kun’yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 欠 – see the following entry.

【あくび】

[noun] 欠, 欠伸: [from 901] a yawn, yawning

[noun] 欠: the 欠 element in kanji characters

[verb] to yawn

Alternative spelling
欠伸

(This term, 欠, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

欠 (eumhun 하품 흠 (hapum heum))

Hanja form^? of 흠 (“yawn”).

Compounds[edit]

흠결 (欠缺, heumgyeol, “deficiency, lack”)
흠신 (欠伸, heumsin, “yawn and stretch”)