The word 缺乏 is formed through the complementary combination of two characters, 缺 (quē) and 乏 (fá), which both independently carry meanings related to deficiency and shortage. 缺 often implies a physical lack, gap, or absence, while 乏 conveys a sense of exhaustion, scarcity, or being wanting. When merged, they create a single, reinforced concept of "to lack" or "to be deficient in", where the two notions of absence and scarcity blend to express a state of not having enough of something, either materially or abstractly.