Chinese symbol for “deficiency”
缺
quē
deficiency; lack; scarce; vacant post
The closest CC-CEDICT match for deficiency is 缺 (quē), defined as: deficiency; lack; scarce; vacant post; to run short of.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “deficiency”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 缺失 | quē shī | lack; deficiency; shortcoming; flaw; defect |
| 不足 | bù zú | insufficient; lacking |
| 欠缺 | qiàn quē | to be deficient in; lapse |
| 贫乏 (貧乏) | pín fá | impoverished; lacking |
| 阙 (闕) | què | Imperial city watchtower (old); fault |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 缺.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 缺乏 | quē fá | to lack; to be short of |
| 缺少 | quē shǎo | lack; shortage of |
| 缺点 (缺點) | quē diǎn | weak point; fault |
| 缺陷 | quē xiàn | defect; flaw |
| 短缺 | duǎn quē | shortage |
| 缺席 | quē xí | to be absent |
See also: Japanese symbol for “deficiency”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.