瑕

瑕 is a phono-semantic compound formed from:

玉 (구슬 옥) — semantic component, signifying jade, precious stone, purity.

叚 (빌릴 가 / 음표기 가) — phonetic component, giving the sound xiá / ha and nuance of borrowed, false, or surface-like.

The combination conveys the image of a jade stone marred by a small imperfection — something precious yet not entirely flawless.

Hence, it naturally extended to describe any physical or moral blemish.

瑕疵 (하자) — flaw, imperfection, defect

無瑕 (무하) — flawless, without blemish

玉有瑕 (옥유하) — “even jade has flaws”; proverb for human imperfection

In early Chinese culture, jade (玉) symbolized purity, virtue, and nobility.

Thus, 瑕, the “flaw in jade,” came to represent the inevitable imperfection that exists even in the finest things.

「玉有瑕而不掩其美」

“Though jade has flaws, its beauty is not diminished.”

— Book of Rites (禮記)

This phrase embodies a moral metaphor: even a virtuous person may have small faults, yet remains worthy.

By the Han dynasty, 瑕 was used figuratively for moral or intellectual blemishes, in phrases like:

「人無完人，玉有瑕焉。」

“No man is perfect, just as no jade is without flaw.”

In later Confucian and literary writing, 瑕 became a poetic symbol of human imperfection within beauty, similar to the Western idiom “a flaw in the diamond.”

Today, the character survives mainly in set expressions such as 瑕疵 (defect) — widely used in legal, trade, and quality-control contexts — and in proverbs that preserve its classical symbolism.

Comparison:

瑕 — flaw (esp. in jade); figurative blemish. Elegant or moral connotation.

疵 — defect, fault. General or physical imperfection.

痕 — mark, trace. Neutral, often positive (trace left behind).

缺 — lack, deficiency. Quantitative absence rather than flaw.

Related forms:

瑕疵 — combined term meaning “defect” or “imperfection.”

無瑕 — flawless, perfect (often used in moral or aesthetic sense).