Word

欠 (qiàn) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 5

Meaning of 欠

动 dòng verb

to owe

我欠你一百块钱。

wǒ qiàn nǐ yī bǎi kuài qián

I owe you one hundred yuan.

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Word breakdown

欠 qiàn — to owe

1 拖欠 tuō qiàn — to be in arrears, to default on payment HSK 7
- 拖 to drag out, to delay
- 欠 to owe, to be in debt
Example

公司拖欠了员工三个月的工资。

gōng sī tuō qiàn le yuán gōng sān gè yuè de gōng zī

The company is in arrears on three months of employees' wages.
2 欠条 qiàn tiáo — IOU HSK 7
- 欠 to owe, debt
- 条 slip of paper, written document
Example

借钱时一定要写欠条。

jiè qián shí yí dìng yào xiě qiàn tiáo

When borrowing money, you must write an IOU.
3 欠缺 qiàn quē — lack HSK 7
- 欠 to owe, to be lacking
- 缺 shortage, deficiency
Example

他欠缺经验。

tā qiàn quē jīng yàn

He lacks experience.

Structure & writing

1 欠 qiàn — to yawn (open the mouth when tired)

欠 is a component in 18 characters

HSK 1

欢 huān joyful, happy 歌 gē song; lyrics that can be sung

HSK 2

次 cì order; rank

HSK 3

饮 yǐn to drink; especially to drink alcohol

HSK 4

吹 chuī to blow (air from the mouth) 歉 qiàn poor harvest (opposite of 丰)

HSK 5

欣 xīn joyful, delighted 欧 Ōu 款 kuǎn sincere; hospitable 软 ruǎn soft, not firm (opposite of 硬)

HSK 6

欲 yù desire; craving for something or wish to achieve a goal 欺 qī to deceive, to cheat 歇 xiē to rest 砍 kǎn to chop or hack with a knife, axe, etc.

HSK 7

坎 kǎn one of the Eight Trigrams, symbol '☵', representing water 嵌 qiàn to inlay; to embed a smaller piece into a recess of a larger object (often decorative) 炊 chuī to cook (a meal), to make a fire for cooking 钦 qīn to admire; to respect

欠 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order