Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 欠 originally depicted a person kneeling with their mouth open, as if yawning or sighing. In ancient oracle bone script, it showed a person on their knees with an open mouth, representing 'to lack' or 'to yawn.' Over time, the character evolved through bronze script and seal script into the modern form 欠, which retains the essence of an open mouth but has become more abstract. The core meanings of 'lack' and 'yawn' have persisted throughout its evolution, and it's commonly used as a radical in characters related to breathing, sounds, or deficiencies. Arrived in Japan: The character 欠 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system to Japan. It was adopted as part of the kanji system and appears in early Japanese texts like the Manyoshu (8th century). The character maintained its core meanings of 'to lack' and is used in both Japanese vocabulary and as a component in other kanji.