How to say “lack” in Chinese
lack, be without
“Lack” in Chinese is 缺少, quē shǎo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
缺少 is read quē shǎo: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 缶 “clay jar”: a jar with a chipped rim. The right part is the same as in 决 jué.
In 多少 it is read with the neutral tone.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “缺少”.
More words from the lesson “What's missing”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “lack” in Chinese?
“Lack” in Chinese is 缺少, pinyin quēshǎo.
What does 缺少 mean?
缺少 (quēshǎo) means “lack, be without”.
How do you write 缺少?
缺少 is 2 characters: 缺 (quē) — lack; flaw; 少 (shǎo) — few, little. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 缺少?
缺少 is read quēshǎo. Tones: quē — first tone, shǎo — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“lack” in the lesson “What's missing”
This word is from the topic “Sports and wrap-up” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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