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欠

to owe; to lack; (literary) to be deficient in; (bound form) yawn; to raise slightly (a part of one's body)

4 strokes Dict coverage rank #1,973 U+6B20

How 欠 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A man 人 yawning ⺈

components: ⺈ 人

How to remember it

lack · Heisig RSH #474

— as a component also called: yawn, lack

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Characters built with 欠 as their sound component

These characters all use 欠 (qiàn) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:

CharacterPinyinMeaning
欠 sound component qiàn to lack, to owe; to breathe, to yawn
软 ruǎn soft, pliable, flexible; weak
吹 chuī to blow, to puff; to brag, to boast
饮 yǐn to swallow, to drink; a kind of drink
坎 kǎn pit, hole; to trap, to snare; crisis
钦 qīn to respect, to admire; royal
砍 kǎn to hack, to chop, to cut, to fell
炊 chuī meal; to cook, to steam
嵌 qiàn valley, ravine; to fall into; to inlay, to set in
芡 qiàn Gorgon plant, fox nut
欿 kǎn sad, gloomy, discontent
肷 qiǎn the area between the waist and hips

Words containing 欠

WordPinyinMeaning
两不相欠 liǎng bù xiāng qiàn to be even; to be quits; to be even-steven
万事俱备,只欠东风 wàn shì jù bèi , zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng lit. everything is ready, all we need is an east wind (idiom); fig. lacking only one tiny …
打哈欠 dǎ hā qian to yawn
互不相欠 hù bù xiāng qiàn see 兩不相欠|两不相欠[liang3 bu4 xiang1 qian4]
只欠东风 zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng all we need is an east wind (idiom); lacking only one tiny crucial item
手欠 shǒu qiàn (coll.) prone to touch things one should keep one's hands off of
欠安 qiàn ān ill (euphemism)
欠身 qiàn shēn to half rise out of one's chair (a polite gesture)
嘴欠 zuǐ qiàn (coll.) unable to control one's tongue; prone to say sth nasty
尾欠 wěi qiàn balance due; small balance still to pay; final remaining debt
哈欠 hā qian yawn
欠条 qiàn tiáo IOU; certificate of indebtedness
欠费 qiàn fèi to be in arrears; to be out of credit; amount owing
短欠 duǎn qiàn to fall short in one's payments; to lack; to be short of
欠款 qiàn kuǎn to owe a debt; balance due; debts
欠缺 qiàn quē to be deficient in; lapse; deficiency
欠抽 qiàn chōu (coll.) to deserve a slap in the face
拖欠 tuō qiàn in arrears; behind in payments; to default on one's debts
欠项 qiàn xiàng liabilities; debt
欠账 qiàn zhàng to owe a debt; debt; obligation