虧 meaning and stroke order
To lose, to fail; loss, damages; deficient
How to write 虧, stroke by stroke
17 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 虧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to lose (money); to have a deficit
- to be deficient
- to treat unfairly
- luckily; fortunately; thanks to
- (used to introduce an ironic remark about sb who has fallen short of expectations)
How 虧 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A tiger 虍 mauling a bird 隹; 亏 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 虍 (tiger), shared by 13 characters on this site.
How to remember 虧
Picture a tiger 虍 mauling a bird 隹: the bird suffers a loss. The right part 亏 (kuī) gives the sound and is also the simplified form of the whole character.
虧 means losing money or getting the worse end of a deal, as in 吃虧 (chīkuī) and 虧本 (kuīběn). It also appears in 幸虧 (xìngkuī) and 多虧 (duōkuī) to mean "luckily" or "thanks to." Example: 幸虧你來了。(Xìngkuī nǐ lái le.) Luckily you came.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 虧 with 號 (hào), since both have 虍 on top or beside. Remember that 虧 ends with 亏 on the right. Also, 吃虧 means to suffer a loss or be taken advantage of, not to eat something.
Common words with 虧
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 虧
How many strokes are in 虧?
虧 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 虧 mean?
虧 (kuī) means to lose, to fail; loss, damages; deficient. A common word with it is 多亏 (duōkuī), meaning "thanks to; luckily".
How do you pronounce 虧?
虧 is pronounced kuī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 虧?
The radical of 虧 is 虍, which carries the idea of "tiger". Dictionaries list 虧 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 虧?
虧 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 亏, used in mainland China and Singapore.
How can 虧 mean both "loss" and "luckily"?
In 幸虧 and 多虧, the sense is that a bad outcome was avoided thanks to something. Used alone before a clause, 虧 can also be ironic. For example, 虧你還是老師 (Kuī nǐ hái shì lǎoshī) means "And you call yourself a teacher."
What is the difference between 虧損 and 虧本?
虧損 (kuīsǔn) is a more formal noun or verb for a financial loss, common in business news about companies. 虧本 (kuīběn) is everyday speech for selling below cost or losing your capital, as in 這生意虧本了 (This business lost money).