欠点
けってん · ketten · JLPT N3 · noun
mistake
🕳️ 欠点 = lack + point: the point where something is missing
欠 means lack or missing, as in 欠席 (absence). 点 means point or spot. So a 欠点 is a spot where something falls short: a flaw, defect or weak point. Opposite: 利点 (advantage), the point that helps you.
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).
点 — fire radical 灬 + 占 (zhān, phonetic)
Originally written 點, a semantic-phonetic compound: 黑 (black) gave the meaning 'small black mark or dot' while 占 supplied the sound. It first referred to ink spots, then extended to 'point, drop, a little,' and verbs like 'to mark' or 'to light (a fire),' reflected in the simplified form's 灬 (fire) component.