欠 — “lack / be absent” in Japanese

Grade 4けつ, か

Radical ⽋ · radical 76 The building block this kanji is filed under

“lack / be absent” in Japanese is 欠, read ketsu, ka (けつ, か). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 欠席 (absence).

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What does 欠 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	欠
Meaning	lack / be absent
Readings	けつ, か
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	欠席 (absence)

How to read 欠

欠 is read ketsu (けつ) or ka (か) depending on the word.

Words with 欠

欠航けっこう
欠席
欠陥

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Kanji read the same way as 欠

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

🌙 月の満ち欠けのふしぎ Grade 4

Updated: 2026-08-28