乏

乏 U+4E4F, 乏 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E4F ← 乎 [U+4E4E] CJK Unified Ideographs 乐 → [U+4E50]

Translingual

Stroke order

Mainland China, Japan (Hong Kong, Taiwan: stroke 3 is split into two: (3A) horizontal rightward and (3B) diagonal downward.)

Han character

乏 (Kangxi radical 4, 丿+4 in traditional Chinese and Korean, 丿+3 in mainland China and Japanese, 5 strokes in traditional Chinese and Korean, 4 strokes in mainland China and Japanese, cangjie input 竹戈弓人 (HINO), four-corner 2030₇, composition ⿱㇒之)

Derived characters

• 𠇖, 𫦧, 𠰏, 𪣇, 姂, 𡶉, 𭛦, 抸, 泛, 𤝑, 𭤱, 𣆅, 柉, 𤇮, 𦚖, 𥁔, 眨, 砭, 䍇, 𬜆, 𮎊, 𧊉, 𪥻, 𧦟, 貶(贬), 䟪, 𨥧, 𩚮, 𩶟, 𪀐, 𫸿
• 𣭛, 𬎣, 𬨵, 鴔(𫛡), 䒦, 𬐆, 窆, 覂, 𩬪, 𫣱, 㞏, 𢇫, 疺

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 82, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 133
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 34, character 3
• Unihan data for U+4E4F

Chinese

simp. and trad.		乏
alternative forms		𠂜 𠓟 𣥄 轄／辖 to be moderate

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 乏
Bronze inscriptions b01949 b01950 b01951 Small seal script s01204 Transcribed ancient scripts L29409
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (乏) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
砭	*prom, *proms
貶	*promʔ
窆	*proms
泛	*pʰoms, *bob
姂	*pʰoms, *bob, *kpʰob
䒦	*pʰom, *pʰoms
柉	*bom
覂	*poŋʔ
眨	*sproːb
鴔	*brub
乏	*bob

Possibly an ideogram (指事) generated by replacing uppermost stroke of 正 (“straight; right”) with a slanted stroke 丿 — not right; lacking.

According to Shuowen, an ideogram (指事) created from reversing 正 (“straight; right”). This is more evident in the Small Seal Script form.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fá (fa²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄚˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fat⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): fa̍t

  (Meixian, Guangdong): fad⁶

• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): ah⁷
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): ha̍t / hoa̍t

  (Teochew, Peng'im): huag⁸ / huêg⁸ / hêg⁸ / hag⁸

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fá
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄚˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fá
    • Wade–Giles: fa²
    • Yale: fá
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: far
    • Palladius: фа (fa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fä³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: fat⁶
    • Yale: faht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fat⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fed⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɐt̚²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fa̍t
    • Hakka Romanization System: fad
    • Hagfa Pinyim: fad⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /fat̚⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: fad⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /fat̚⁵/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ah⁷
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /aʔ⁴/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ah⁷
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /aʔ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ha̍t / hoa̍t
    • Tâi-lô: ha̍t / hua̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hat, hoat
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hat̚⁴/, /huat̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hat̚²⁴/, /huat̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hat̚¹²¹/, /huat̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hat̚⁴/, /huat̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hat̚⁴/, /huat̚⁴/

Note:

• ha̍t - vernacular (“lacking; to be moderate”);
• hoa̍t - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: huag⁸ / huêg⁸ / hêg⁸ / hag⁸
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hua̍k / hue̍k / he̍k / ha̍k
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /huak̚⁴/, /huek̚⁴/, /hek̚⁴/, /hak̚⁴/

Note:

• huag8/huêg8 - literary (huêg8 - Chaozhou);
• hêg8 - vernacular (“tired”);
• hag8 - vernacular (“to lack”).

---

• Middle Chinese: bjop

Rime
Character	乏
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	並 (3)
Final (韻)	乏 (148)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	房法切
Baxter	bjop
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/bɨɐp̚/
Pan Wuyun	/biɐp̚/
Shao Rongfen	/biɐp̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/buap̚/
Li Rong	/biɐp̚/
Wang Li	/bĭwɐp̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/bʱi̯wɐp̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	fá
Expected Cantonese Reflex	faat6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[b](r)[o]p/

  (Zhengzhang): /*bob/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	乏
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	fá
Middle Chinese	‹ bjop ›
Old Chinese	/*[b](r)[o]p/
English	lack (v.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	乏
Reading #	1/1
No.	2852
Phonetic component	乏
Rime group	盍
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	乏
Old Chinese	/*bob/

Definitions

乏

1. to lack

   缺乏  ―  quēfá  ―  to lack; to be short of

2. poor

   貧乏／贫乏  ―  pínfá  ―  poor

3. tired

   疲乏  ―  pífá  ―  tired

4. (Hokkien) lacking; insufficient; inadequate
5. (Hokkien) to be moderate; to abstain; to check; to restrict oneself (in food, usage, spending, addiction, etc.)

   酒著乏咧啉。 [Hokkien, trad.]
   酒着乏咧啉。 [Hokkien, simp.]

   Chiú tio̍h ha̍t leh lim. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   Drinking alcohol should be in moderation.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 累 (“tired”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		疲倦, 疲乏, 疲累, 疲憊, 疲勞
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	累, 乏
	Taiwan	累
	Malaysia	累
	Singapore	累
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	累, 乏
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	乏
	Xi'an	乏, 累
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	乏
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	累
	Wuhan	累
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	累, 痿
	Hefei	累
Cantonese	Guangzhou	攰
	Hong Kong	攰
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	攰
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	攰
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	攰
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	攰
	Macau	攰
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	攰
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	攰
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	疚
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	攰
	Foshan	攰
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	疚
	Foshan (Shunde)	攰
	Foshan (Sanshui)	疚攰
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	疚攰
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	疓
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	疓
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	疚, 攰
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	疚, 攰
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	疚
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	疚
	Taishan	疚, 攰, 疓
	Kaiping (Chikan)	疚, 攰
	Enping (Niujiang)	疚, 攰
	Heshan (Yayao)	疚算
	Dongguan	攰
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	攰
	Qingyuan	攰
	Fogang	攰
	Yingde (Hanguang)	攰
	Yangshan	攰
	Lianshan (Butian)	累
	Lianzhou (Qingshui; Sihui)	攰
	Shaoguan	攰
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	攰
	Renhua	攰
	Lechang	攰
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	攰
	Sihui	攰
	Guangning	攰
	Deqing	攰
	Huaiji	攰
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	疓, 攰
	Yunfu	攰
	Xinxing	疓
	Luoding	攰
	Yunan (Pingtai)	攰
	Yangjiang	攰, 疓
	Xinyi	攰
	Lianjiang	攰
	Nanning	攰
	Wuzhou	攰
	Yulin	攰, 累
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	攰
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	攰
	Singapore (Guangfu)	攰
Gan	Nanchang	累
Hakka	Meixian	𤸁, 渴
	Xingning	𤸁
	Huidong (Daling)	𤸁
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	𤸁
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	𤸁
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	𤸁
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	𤸁
	Wengyuan	𤸁
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	𤸁
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	𤸁
	Liannan	𤸁
	Jiexi	渴
	Luhe	悿 Hetian, 渴 Xintian
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	悿
	Changting	累
	Wuping	𤸁
	Wuping (Yanqian)	𤸁
	Wuping (Pingyu)	𤸁
	Liancheng	𤸁
	Ninghua	累
	Ningdu	累
	Ruijin	𤸁
	Shangyou (Shexi)	𤸁
	Tonggu (Sandu)	累
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	𤸁, 悿
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	𤸁, 悿
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	悿
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	悿, 𤸁
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	悿
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	悿
	Hong Kong	𤸁
	Xinyi (Sihe)	𤸁
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	𤸁
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	𤸁
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	𤸁
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	𤸁
	Mengshan (Xihe)	𤸁
	Luchuan	𤸁
	Senai (Huiyang)	𤸁
	Kuching (Hepo)	𤺪
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	渴
	Singkawang	渴
Huizhou	Jixi	吃力
Jin	Taiyuan	乏, 累
	Xinzhou	累
Northern Min	Jian'ou	累, 軟
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	弱
Southern Min	Xiamen	𤺪, 厭
	Quanzhou	𤺪, 厭
	Zhangzhou	𤺪, 厭
	Zhao'an	厭, 悿
	Taipei	悿
	Taipei (Wanhua)	悿, 𤺪
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	悿, 𤺪
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	悿
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	悿, 𤺪
	Kaohsiung	悿
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	悿, 𤺪
	Kaohsiung (Hongmaogang, Siaogang)	悿
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	悿, 𤺪
	Kaohsiung (Tianliao)	悿
	Yilan	悿, 懶
	Yilan (Toucheng)	悿, 𤺪
	Changhua (Lukang)	悿
	Taichung	𤺪
	Taichung (Wuqi)	悿
	Tainan	悿, 𤺪
	Tainan (Anping)	悿, 𤺪
	Taitung	悿
	Hsinchu	悿, 𤺪
	Kinmen	悿
	Penghu (Magong)	悿, 𤺪
	Penghu (Xiyu)	悿, 𤺪
	Penang (Hokkien)	𤺪
	Singapore (Hokkien)	𤺪
	Manila (Hokkien)	𤺪
	Chaozhou	乏, 累
	Shantou	乏, 𤺪
	Shantou (Chenghai)	乏
	Jieyang	乏
	Haifeng	悿
	Bangkok (Teochew)	乏
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	乏
	Singapore (Teochew)	𤺪, 累, 乏
	Leizhou	乏
	Wenchang	乏
	Haikou	乏
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	瞓
Wu	Shanghai	吃力, 衰瘏
	Suzhou	吃力
	Hangzhou (Yuhang)	吃力
	Ningbo	着力, 吃力 rare
	Wenzhou	㾯, 吃力
Xiang	Changsha	傫
	Shuangfeng	鶴累

Compounds

• 不乏 (bùfá)
• 不乏其人 (bùfáqírén)
• 不虞匱乏／不虞匮乏
• 中饋乏人／中馈乏人
• 乏人
• 乏人問津／乏人问津 (fárénwènjīn)
• 乏倦
• 乏味 (fáwèi)
• 乏善可陳／乏善可陈 (fáshànkěchén)
• 乏困 (fákùn)
• 乏地
• 乏手
• 乏月
• 乏桶
• 乏樣子／乏样子
• 乏煤
• 乏用
• 乏角兒／乏角儿
• 乏貨／乏货
• 乏趣
• 乏頓／乏顿
• 人困馬乏／人困马乏 (rénkùn-mǎfá)
• 倦乏
• 分身乏術／分身乏术 (fēnshēnfáshù)
• 力乏兵衰
• 力困筋乏
• 勞乏／劳乏
• 匱乏／匮乏 (kuìfá)
• 周急繼乏／周急继乏
• 回天乏術／回天乏术
• 回生乏術／回生乏术
• 困乏 (kùnfá)
• 害乏
• 家道消乏
• 彈性疲乏／弹性疲乏
• 後繼乏人／后继乏人
• 後繼乏力／后继乏力
• 承乏 (chéngfá)
• 振貧濟乏／振贫济乏
• 春困秋乏
• 欲振乏力
• 歇乏
• 消乏
• 疲乏 (pífá)
• 疲乏強度／疲乏强度
• 空乏
• 窮乏／穷乏 (qióngfá)
• 絕乏／绝乏 (juéfá)
• 缺乏 (quēfá)
• 謝乏／谢乏
• 貧乏／贫乏 (pínfá)
• 賑窮濟乏／赈穷济乏
• 返魂乏術／返魂乏术 (fǎnhúnfáshù)
• 道乏
• 銷乏／销乏
• 闕乏／阙乏 (quēfá)
• 養乏／养乏

 

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00032
• “乏”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

乏

(Jōyō kanji)

1. poverty
2. lack
3. scarcity

Readings

• Go-on: ぼう (bō, Jōyō)^{←ぼふ (bofu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ほう (hō)^{←はふ (fafu, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: ぼう (bō, Jōyō)^{←ばふ (bafu, historical)}
• Kun: とぼしい (toboshii, 乏しい, Jōyō)、ともしい (tomoshii, 乏しい)

Compounds

Compounds

• 欠(けつ)乏(ぼう) (ketsubō, “lack, scarcity”)
• 貧(びん)乏(ぼう) (binbō, “poor, poverty”)
• 意(い)志(し)欠(けつ)乏(ぼう) (ishiketsubō, “abulia”)
• 器(き)用(よう)貧(びん)乏(ぼう) (kiyōbinbō, “jack of all trades”)
• 貧乏(まづしき) (mazushiki, “poverty”)

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 乏 (MC bjop).

Hanja

乏 (eumhun 모자랄 핍 (mojaral pip))

1. hanja form^? of 핍 (“lack”)

Compounds

• 결핍 (缺乏, gyeolpip, “lack”)
• 곤핍 (困乏, gonpip, “being fatigued”)
• 궁핍 (窮乏, gungpip, “poverty, privation”)
• 빈핍 (貧乏, binpip, “poverty”)
• 절핍 (絶乏, jeolpip, “exhaustion”)
• 핍혈 (乏血, piphyeol, “hyphema”)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]
• Naver Hanja Dictionary: 乏

Vietnamese

Han character

乏: Hán Nôm readings: phạp, phạc

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.