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匱乏

简匮乏 · 繁匱乏

Mandarin · pinyin kuì fá

to be deficient in sth
to be short of sth (supplies, money etc)

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Characters in this entry

匱: Look up this written character
乏: fá · lack; poor
匮: kuì · to lack

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · kui4 fa2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwai6 fat6

Cantonese word readings for 匱乏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

short (of); scarce; lacking

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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