Chinese symbol for “flaw”

缺陷

quē xiàn

defect; flaw

The closest CC-CEDICT match for flaw is 缺陷 (quē xiàn), defined as: defect; flaw.

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

缺 quē

to lack, to be short; vacancy, gap, deficit

radical 121 ⽸ · 10 strokes

陷 xiàn

to sink, to plunge; trap, pitfall

radical 170 ⾩ · 10 strokes

Other Chinese words for “flaw”

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
颣 (纇)	lèi	flaw; knot
瑕疵	xiá cī	blemish; flaw
破绽 (破綻)	pò zhàn	split seam; (fig.) flaw
裂纹 (裂紋)	liè wén	crack; flaw
缺失	quē shī	lack; deficiency; shortcoming; flaw; defect

Related words

Other words that share a character with 缺陷.

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
短缺	duǎn quē	shortage
缺席	quē xí	to be absent
陷入	xiàn rù	to sink into; to get caught up in
陷阱	xiàn jǐng	pitfall; snare
沦陷 (淪陷)	lún xiàn	to fall into enemy hands; to be occupied

See also: Japanese symbol for “flaw”.

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.