歉 (qiàn) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order
Pronunciation & meaning
Pronounced .
- deficient
- lacking
- to apologize
- to regret
- to be sorry
Stroke Order & Practice
Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.
Decomposition
歉 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.
Radical
The radical of 歉 is 欠 — meaning to lack. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.
How the character is built
歉 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 欠 (lack) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 兼 originally indicated the sound.
HSK 4 Words Containing 歉
Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句
歉 appears in 39 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:
Tasks Featuring 歉 / 相关任务
Words containing 歉 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:
FAQ
What does 歉 mean in Chinese?
歉 (qiàn) means deficient, lacking; to apologize, to regret, to be sorry. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).
How many strokes does 歉 have?
歉 is written in 14 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 歉?
The radical of 歉 is 欠 (to lack).
What is the pinyin for 歉?
歉 is pronounced qiàn.
What HSK 4 words use 歉?
In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 歉 appears in 2 words, including 抱歉 (bàoqiàn), 道歉 (dàoqiàn). See the full list above.