About
The character 欹 is a phono-semantic compound: the left component 奇 (qí) provides the phonetic element and suggests something unusual, while the right radical 欠 (qiàn), depicting a person exhaling, indicates a physical posture or action. Its primary meaning throughout history is "askew" or "leaning", often used in classical texts to describe a vessel tipping when full or a person resting in a tilted position. This combination of components effectively conveys a state of imbalance, and the character has consistently maintained this core meaning without significant semantic shift.
Etymology Hide
