About
The simplified character 亏 originated as a pictograph of a reed wind instrument, now written 竽, and was originally the same character as 于. Its modern meanings of "deficit", "loss", and "to lack" are phonetic loans. The traditional form 虧 is a complex phono-semantic compound that combines the tiger radical 虍, the bird component 隹, and a phonetic element resembling 亏. During simplification, the animal radicals were discarded, leaving only this phonetic component to represent the full range of concepts, including deficiency, financial loss, failing to meet a goal, and treating someone unfairly. This drastic reduction in strokes stripped away the semantic classifiers, turning an elaborate symbol into the highly abstract 亏.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这家店亏本了。
他做生意亏了钱。
多亏你的帮助。
幸亏我带了伞。
你不能亏待朋友。
这次投资亏了不少。
亏得你提醒，我才没忘记。
尽管市场不好，但他没有亏本。
Report an issue
Flag incorrect definitions, examples, etymology, etc.