Dictionary › 欠

欠

qiàn

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 character level 5 Character

欠 (qiàn) means "to owe". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 欠 means

1. to owe
2. to lack
3. literaryto be deficient in
4. bound formyawn
5. to raise slightly (a part of one's body)

Example sentences

• 我不欠债。
  Wǒ bù qiànzhài.
  I have no debt.
• 你欠我钱。
  You owe me money.
• 我欠您多少？
  How much do I owe you?
• 我欠汤姆钱。
  I owe Tom some money.
• 她欠你多少？
  How much does she owe you?
• 我欠他一百元。
  I owe him $100.

Words starting with 欠

• 欠缺qiàn quēto be deficient in; lapse; deficiency
• 欠款qiàn kuǎnto owe a debt; balance due; debts
• 欠佳qiàn jiāsuboptimal; subpar; not good enough
• 欠债qiàn zhàito owe a debt; the sum owed
• 欠身qiàn shēnto half rise out of one's chair (a polite gesture)
• 欠费qiàn fèito be in arrears; to be out of credit; amount owing
• 欠条qiàn tiáoIOU; certificate of indebtedness
• 欠安qiàn ānill (euphemism)
• 欠抽qiàn chōu(colloquial) to deserve a slap in the face
• 欠薪qiàn xīnto owe wages; back pay; wages arrears
• 欠账qiàn zhàngto owe a debt; debt; obligation
• 欠项qiàn xiàngliabilities; debt
• 欠妥qiàn tuǒimproper; inappropriate; unsatisfactory
• 欠扁qiàn biǎnannoying; infuriating; deserving of a good spanking
• 欠揍qiàn zòuto need a spanking

Words containing 欠

• 拖欠tuō qiànin arrears; behind in payments; to default on one's debts
• 哈欠hā qianyawn
• 呵欠hē qiànyawn
• 亏欠kuī qiànto have a deficit; to be in the red; to owe
• 打哈欠dǎ hā qianto yawn
• 嘴欠zuǐ qiàn(colloquial) unable to control one's tongue; prone to say sth nasty
• 尾欠wěi qiànbalance due; small balance still to pay; final remaining debt
• 手欠shǒu qiàn(colloquial) prone to touch things one should keep one's hands off of
• 短欠duǎn qiànto fall short in one's payments; to lack; to be short of
• 两不相欠liǎng bù xiāng qiànto be even; to be quits; to be even-steven
• 只欠东风zhǐ qiàn dōng fēngall we need is an east wind (idiom); lacking only one tiny crucial item
• 打呵欠dǎ hē qiànto yawn
• 赊欠shē qiànto offer credit; credit transaction; to buy or sell on account
• 万事俱备，只欠东风wàn shì jù bèi , zhǐ qiàn dōng fēnglit. everything is ready, all we need is an east wind (idiom)…
• 互不相欠hù bù xiāng qiànsee 两不相欠

Characters that look like 欠

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 失shīto lose; to miss; to fail
• 久jiǔ(of a period of time) long
• 叉chāfork; pitchfork; prong
• 矢shǐarrow; dart; straight

Sounds the same

Read qiàn, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 歉to apologize; to regret; deficient
• 嵌to inlay; to embed; Taiwan pr. qiān
• 倩pretty; winsome; to ask for sb's help
• 茜(bound form) Indian madder; munjeet (Rubia cordifolia); (bound form) madder red…
• 纤boatman's tow-rope
• 堑(bound form) moat; chasm
• 芡Gorgon plant; fox nut (Gorgon euryale or Euryale ferox); makhana (Hindi)
• 皘white
• 篟luxuriant growth of bamboo
• 蒨luxuriant growth
• 慊dissatisfied
• 椠wooden tablet; edition

Where 欠 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Leading, Signing & Future Prospects (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read qiàn correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.