How to Write 乏 (fá) — Meaning “tired / weary / lacking”

Imagine a person (the top stroke) who is so tired that they are bending down (the curve) and dragging their feet (the bottom strokes). Alternatively, think of the shape like a person who has no energy, with the missing dot in the middle symbolizing a lack of strength.

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke (丿), then horizontal stroke (一), then left-falling again (丿), and finally a right-falling stroke (乀). A common mistake is making the middle part too wide or forgetting that the second stroke is a short horizontal, not a dot. Keep the character narrow and balanced.

乏 (tired/lacking) has a bent top stroke and a dot-like shape inside, while 丹 (cinnabar/red) has a box-like frame with a dot in the middle. 乂 (to govern/y-shaped) is just two crossed strokes. Remember that 乏 looks like a tired person slumping, whereas 丹 looks like a container with a pill, and 乂 is just a cross.

You use 乏 in words like 缺乏 (to lack) for missing resources or skills, 疲乏 (fatigued) for physical tiredness, and 乏味 (boring) for uninteresting things or people. It often carries a negative tone of deficiency or exhaustion, so avoid using it in positive contexts.

Common words containing 乏 include: 缺乏 (quē fá) — to lack; 疲乏 (pí fá) — fatigued; 乏味 (fá wèi) — dull / boring / tasteless.