闕

què

watch tower, palace, gap, or omission

Meaning

  • Architectural/Imperial: A gap or opening in a wall; specifically the watchtowers or side-gates of a palace. By extension, the imperial palace or residence itself, denoting the threshold of sovereign power and formal access.
  • Abstract: Missing, omitted, incomplete, or deficient.

Grammar and usage

  • Noun: A physical structure (watchtower, gate) or a political entity (the palace).
  • Predicate Adjective/Verb: To be missing; to be omitted; to leave a gap.

Distinctions

  • Relationship with 缺: In early texts, 闕 is often interchangeable with 缺. In non-architectural contexts—such as ritual, music, or logic—the sense of "omission" or "lack" is prioritized.

History and forms

  • Simplified variant: U+9619.

Translator notes

  • The distinction between 闕 (as a physical portal) and 缺 (as a conceptual void) is fluid in ancient contexts; the translator should evaluate whether the "gap" is architectural or deficiency-based.
  • In philosophical or technical passages, the sense of "missing" may imply a deliberate opening or strategic omission rather than a failure or error.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.