缺 (quē) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

quē to lack, to be short; vacancy, gap, deficit 10 strokes · Radical 缶 (earthen crock or jar) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 缺 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced quē.

to lack
to be short
vacancy
gap
deficit

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

缺 — 10 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

缺 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

缺 =

缶 left earthen crock or jar

夬 right decisive

Radical

The radical of 缺 is 缶 — meaning earthen crock or jar. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

How the character is built

缺 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 缶 (jar) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 夬 originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 缺

缺 quē to lack; to be short of

教室里缺一把椅子。

Jiàoshì lǐ quē yì bǎ yǐzi.

The classroom is missing a chair.

缺点 quēdiǎn shortcoming; weakness; flaw

每个人都有自己的缺点。

Měi gè rén dōu yǒu zìjǐ de quēdiǎn.

Everyone has their own shortcomings.

缺少 quēshǎo to lack; to be short of

这篇文章缺少具体的例子。

Zhè piān wénzhāng quēshǎo jùtǐ de lìzi.

This article lacks specific examples.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

缺 appears in 51 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

每个人都有自己的优点和缺点。

From Mock Exam 08 →

每个人都有缺点，再优秀的人也一样。

From Mock Exam 15 →

交通工具是现代生活中不可缺少的一部分。

From Mock Exam 01 →

FAQ

What does 缺 mean in Chinese?

缺 (quē) means to lack, to be short; vacancy, gap, deficit. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 缺 have?

缺 is written in 10 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 缺?

The radical of 缺 is 缶 (earthen crock or jar).

What is the pinyin for 缺?

缺 is pronounced quē.

What HSK 4 words use 缺?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 缺 appears in 3 words, including 缺 (quē), 缺点 (quēdiǎn), 缺少 (quēshǎo). See the full list above.