欠 qiàn — to owe; to be behind on

欠
qiàn

Level 1 · Common HSK 5 #153

qiàn qian4

Basic definition

  1. verb to owe; to be behind on e.g 欠债欠账拖欠亏欠
  2. verb to lack; to be short of; to lean slightly forward e.g 欠缺欠安欠身

Detailed explanation

verb
  1. (象形。甲骨文字形，象人张着口打呵欠。小篆字形下面是人(儿)，上面象人呼出的气。本义:打呵欠)
  2. yawn e.g 呵欠
  3. slightly raise;raise slightly e.g 欠体
  4. owe e.g 拖欠 欠折 · 欠负 · 欠票
  5. be short of;want;lack e.g 缺欠 欠缺悬隔 · 欠通
  6. not equal to
  7. miss e.g 欠挂
  8. spiteful
adjective
  1. dull-witted
  2. ——如：“打哈欠”（ dǎ hāqian）

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