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瑕疵 (xiá cī) — flaw, blemish

Definition

瑕疵 (xiá cī) is a written, formal word for a small physical 'flaw or blemish' (on a gem, product, design). More neutral and technical than 毛病; lighter and more surface-level than 缺陷.

noun
flawblemish
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 瑕疵。
    Zhè tái diàn nǎo de píng mù shàng yǒu yí gè xiǎo xiǎo de xiá cī.
    There is a tiny flaw on the screen of this computer.
  • 瑕疵。
    Tā de shè jì fāng àn hái yǒu yì xiē xiá cī xū yào gǎi jìn.
    His design plan still has some flaws that need improvement.
  • 瑕疵，。
    Zhè kuài bǎo shí méi yǒu rèn hé xiá cī, fēi cháng wán měi.
    This gemstone has no flaws at all; it's perfect.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

瑕xiáflaw
疵cīblemish

瑕 and 疵 both refer to flaws, especially in jade, so together they mean blemish.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𤣩Written in full as玉yù
Sound part声符shēngfú
叚
叚jiǎ瑕xiá
Same sound today

瑕 has 玉 (jade) on the left and 叚 on the right, where 叚 gives the sound.

Open 瑕 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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