DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
缺
Mandarin · pinyin quē
Meanings
- deficiency
- lack
- scarce
- vacant post
- to run short of
Characters in this entry
- 缺
- quē · be short of, lack; gap, deficit
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1 · que1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link5same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 10 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
kyut3
Cantonese word readings for 缺. 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.
character
- incomplete; uncompleted; deficient
- imperfect; flawed
- to lack; to be short of
- to be absent
- vacancy; gap; deficit
- (colloquial) to be mean; to be wicked
- (colloquial) to be stupid; to be dense
- (Hokkien) chipped part; broken edge (on a bowl, cup, etc.)
- (Taiwanese Hokkien) Classifier for chipped parts on the edge of a container.
- (Shanghainese, when telling time) to
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack