欠けます（かけます、kakemasu）
- to lack

The Japanese verb 欠けます means "to be missing," "to lack," "to chip," "to be broken off," or "to be deficient." It implies the absence of something that should be there or the imperfection of an object due to breakage or incompleteness. 欠けます can describe both physical and abstract concepts. It's versatile and can be used in various contexts.

⚫︎コップのふちが欠けています。 Translation: The rim of the glass is chipped. ⚫︎彼は経験が欠けています。 Translation: He lacks experience. ⚫︎チームはリーダーシップが欠けている。 Translation: The team is lacking leadership.

This word is used in formal and informal situations. It is appropriate when speaking about physical objects (like a chipped cup), but also when describing a deficiency in abstract things (such as skills, resources, or qualities). Pay attention to the context to determine the most accurate translation. Its use is generally quite straightforward, following the standard Japanese sentence structure (subject-object-verb).

The word is written as 欠けます. ⚫︎ Kanji: 欠 (meaning "to lack," "deficiency") ⚫︎ Hiragana: けます (the inflection of the verb) The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is always "けます". Other conjugations, like 欠けた, 欠けて, 欠ければ, will have the base form 欠け.

⚫︎ 足りない (足らない) - to be insufficient, to not be enough ⚫︎ 不足する (ふそくする) - to be lacking, to be deficient ⚫︎ 無い (ない) - to not have, to be without ⚫︎ 失う (うしなう) - to lose (something) ⚫︎ 損なう (そこなう) - to damage, to impair

⚫︎ ある - to exist, to be ⚫︎ 十分である (じゅうぶんであ) - to be sufficient ⚫︎ 揃っている (そろっている) - to be complete, to be all there ⚫︎ 満たす (みたす) - to fulfill, to satisfy

このリンゴは少し欠けていますね。 ・Translation: This apple is a little chipped, isn't it? ・Explanation: This sentence describes the physical state of the apple; a small part is missing.

彼のプレゼンテーションは情熱が欠けていた。 ・Translation: His presentation lacked passion. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 欠けていた to describe the absence of an abstract quality (passion).

The kanji 欠 originally depicted a person leaning over, perhaps indicating a deficiency or something missing. Over time, it came to mean "lack" or "deficiency." The verb conjugation is a standard Japanese verb ending.