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缺席 (quē xí) — to be absent (from an event, meeting, class, etc.)

Definition

Used for being absent from a planned event (meeting, class, trial). Unlike 缺 / 缺少 / 缺乏 (lacking something abstract or a resource) or 旷课 (deliberately skipping class), 缺席 simply states non-attendance, whether excused or not.

verb
to be absent (from an event, meeting, class, etc.)

Examples

  • 缺席。
    Tā jīng cháng quē xí huì yì.
    He is often absent from meetings.
  • 缺席。
    Jīn tiān yǒu sān rén quē xí.
    Three people are absent today.
  • 缺席，。
    Rú guǒ nǐ quē xí, qǐng tí qián qǐng jià.
    If you are absent, please ask for leave in advance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

缺quēmiss
席xíseat

“缺” means missing, and “席” means a seat, so the word pictures missing one’s seat.

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
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 →

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

席 originally showed a woven mat with an ornament. In 席, the mat became 巾, and a later sound part was written as 庶.

Open 席 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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