欠

Tap the pinyin to hear it

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

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A man 人 yawning ⺈

Components ⺈人

lack · Heisig RSH #474

— as a component also called: yawn, lack

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
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

These characters use 欠 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
欠 sound part	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