残缺不全 (cán quē bù quán) — broken and incomplete; fragmentary; partly missing

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'broken and incomplete' — describes physical objects (books, artifacts) or records that are damaged and missing pieces. Stronger than just 不完整, with a sense of damage or loss rather than simple incompleteness.

idiom
broken and incompletefragmentarypartly missing

Examples

  • 残缺不全，。
    Zhè běn gǔ shū yǐ jīng cán quē bù quán le, hěn duō yè dōu kàn bù qīng chǔ.
    This ancient book is already fragmentary; many pages are illegible.
  • 残缺不全，。
    Nà xiē chū tǔ de wén wù dà duō cán quē bù quán, xū yào màn màn xiū fù.
    Most of those unearthed artifacts are broken and incomplete, requiring gradual restoration.
  • 残缺不全，。
    Yīn wèi jì lù cán quē bù quán, wǒ men hěn nán liǎo jiě dāng shí de qíng kuàng.
    Because the records are fragmentary, it's hard for us to understand the situation at that time.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
缶缶fǒuearthen pot
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài缺quē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

缺 pairs 缶, an earthen pot, with 夬, which gives the sound.

Open 缺 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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