欠
qiàn · HSK 5
to owe
🥱 欠 = a person 人 with mouth open — yawn, then 'lacking/owing'
Oracle bone shows a kneeling figure with an open mouth exhaling. Core sense is yawn; extended to lack, be short of, and owe (you 'lack' what you haven't paid).
欠 — person 人 below + open mouth 欠 top (yawning figure)
Pictograph of a person kneeling with mouth wide open, exhaling — originally depicting a yawn or breath. From this came meanings like 'to lack' or 'to owe', as if something is missing or breathed out. It now serves as a radical in characters related to breathing, singing, or desire (歌, 歡, 欲).