欠 (qiàn): to owe, to be short of

Stroke Order & Writing

HSK 5verb

Character info

Pinyin
Meaning: to owe, to be short of
Characters: 1
Part of speech: verb
HSK level: HSK 5
Strokes: 4
Radical: 欠
Structure: 独体结构

Full definitions

to owe
to lack
(bound form) yawn
to raise slightly (a part of ones body)
(literary) to be deficient in

Chinese explanation

借了别人的东西或钱还没有归还
应该给别人或应该做的事情还没有做
数量不够、缺少。

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Stroke-by-stroke breakdown

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4 strokes

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Example sentences

When I bought a phone last month, I borrowed 2,000 yuan from a friend and still haven't paid it back; I always feel I owe him a favor.

The owner of this small restaurant said business has been bad lately and he already owes the landlord three months' rent; if things continue like this, he'll have to close down.

He promised to help me take care of my puppy for a week, but only did it for two days before bringing it back; I feel he owes me an apology.

In order to treat his mother's illness, he borrowed a lot of money from relatives and now works overtime every day, hoping to pay off the debt as soon as possible.

When I was little, my family was poor and my parents owed the bank quite a lot in loans, so after I started working I've always been careful to save money.

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