HSK Guide

Radical 76to yawn; to owe; to lack, to be short of

qiàn (fourth tone, falling)

to yawn; to owe; to lack, to be short of

Radical 764 strokes1 characters

Where the shape comes from

A kneeling person with the mouth thrown wide and the breath rising out of it: a yawn. What gapes is empty, and from there the word slid to "to be short of" and then "to owe". It marks what is done with an open mouth: 歌, 欢, 次 and 款.