残缺

• Pinyin: cán quē
• Hanzi breakdown: 残 = 歹 (damaged/evil) + 戋 (phonetic); 缺 = 缶 (clay jar) + 夬 (phonetic, suggesting a piece broken away)

Meaning

Incomplete; damaged; missing parts. Describes something that was once whole but now lacks elements due to damage, deterioration, or loss.

Used for physical objects (残缺的文物 damaged cultural relics), texts (残缺的文稿 incomplete manuscripts), and figuratively for people or situations (残缺的家庭 a broken family, 残缺感 a sense of incompleteness). The word carries a melancholy or regretful tone, implying that something valuable has been irretrievably lost. Contrasts with 完整 (complete/whole).

Examples

1. 博物馆里这件残缺的青铜礼器出土于西周时期，残缺之处反而增添了历史的沧桑之感。 This damaged bronze ritual vessel in the museum was unearthed from the Western Zhou period; its incompleteness actually adds to the sense of historical weathering.
2. 由于早年保存不当，这批珍贵古籍大量残缺，学者们耗费数年才完成修复整理工作。 Due to improper storage in earlier years, a large portion of these precious ancient texts is damaged, and scholars spent years completing the restoration and cataloguing work.
3. 她并不认为单亲家庭就是残缺的——只要有爱与陪伴，家庭便是完整的。 She doesn't think single-parent families are broken — as long as there is love and companionship, a family is whole.

Usage Guide

Context: history, culture, literature, family, psychology

Tone: melancholy

Do Say

• 这件残缺的陶器历经千年，依然具有极高的文物研究价值。(This incomplete piece of pottery, having survived thousands of years, still holds very high value for cultural research.)
• 他在日记里袒露了内心那种难以名状的残缺感，读来令人动容。(In his diary he laid bare the indescribable sense of incompleteness in his heart — moving to read.)

Don't Say

• 这道菜做得很残缺。(残缺 is not used for food that turned out poorly — use 做得不好 or 卖相不太好 instead)

Origin & History

残 (damaged/incomplete) + 缺 (lacking/missing; 缺 = 缶 clay jar + 夬 phonetic, suggesting a piece broken from a vessel). A compound emphasizing the absence of expected parts due to damage or loss.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal