亏
kuī · HSK 5
deficiency
📉 sounds like 'kwee' — a deficit squeaks the budget
亏 (kuī) means deficit or shortfall, and also 'luckily' as in 'lucky thing that...'. The kuī sound echoes a thin squeak — a budget running short. Used in 亏本 (lose money) and 多亏 (thanks to / luckily).
亏 — top stroke 一 + 丂 (hooked breath)
亏 is the simplified form of 虧. Originally 丂 depicted breath or air being exhaled with difficulty, suggesting something lacking or deficient. Over time it came to mean 'lose,' 'deficit,' or 'owe,' as in being short of what is needed.