亏

虧

kuī

一 + 丂

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

kuī (noun) deficit; loss

kuī (adverb) fortunately; luckily

Etymology

Originally the same character as 于, depicting a musical wind instrument with a reed, which is now written as 竽. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

The simplified character 亏 and its complex traditional counterpart 虧 show a significant structural contrast. 虧 is a phono-semantic compound comprising the tiger radical 虍, the bird component 隹, and an older phonetic element resembling 亏. Its original meaning involved deficiency or the moon's waning, extending to concepts of financial loss, falling short, or unfair treatment. The simplified form discards the tiger and bird components, adopting the ancient phonetic element 亏 as a standalone character to represent these same ideas of deficit and loss. This radical reduction in strokes removed the intricate animal-related classifiers, resulting in an abstract symbol for lacking or losing.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这家店亏本了。

Zhè jiā diàn kuīběn le.

This shop is at a loss.

他做生意亏了钱。

Tā zuò shēngyì kuī le qián.

He lost money in business.

多亏你的帮助。

Duōkuī nǐ de bāngzhù.

Thanks to your help.

幸亏我带了伞。

Xìngkuī wǒ dài le sǎn.

Fortunately, I brought an umbrella.

你不能亏待朋友。

Nǐ bù néng kuīdài péngyǒu.

You can't treat friends unfairly.

这次投资亏了不少。

Zhè cì tóuzī kuī le bùshǎo.

This investment lost a lot.

亏得你提醒，我才没忘记。

Kuīde nǐ tíxǐng, wǒ cái méi wàngjì.

Thanks to your reminder, I didn't forget.

尽管市场不好，但他没有亏本。

Jǐnguǎn shìchǎng bù hǎo, dàn tā méiyǒu kuīběn.

Even though the market is bad, he didn't suffer a loss.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 一

Component: 丂

亏