73
欠
Lack, Missing
かける (kakeru), かく (kaku)
JLPT N3
Interesting Fact
There is a surprising story behind 欠. One of its original forms was a picture of a person opening their mouth wide, representing a yawn. That older meaning still survives in Japanese: 欠伸 (あくび / akubi) means “yawn.” Over time, the character also became associated with the idea of something being missing or incomplete. So when you see 欠, you can imagine someone opening their mouth because something is missing—or simply because they're incredibly sleepy!
Memory Trick
👨🦲 “This person(人) is missing hair—let me put a hat on him!” That’s 欠!
Readings
Onyomi: ケツ (ketsu)
Kunyomi: かける (kakeru), かく (kaku)
Example Words
欠席
けっせき (kesseki)
Absence
欠点
けってん (ketten)
Weak point
不可欠
ふかけつ (fukaketsu)
Essential
欠ける
かける (kakeru)
To be chipped, lacking
Example Sentence
今日は会議を欠席します。
きょう は かいぎ を けっせき します。
kyou wa kaigi o kesseki shimasu
I will be absent from today's meeting.