乞
qǐ
to beg
a picture of 乞 → a stripped-down 气, the shape of depletion
乞 is closely related to 气, from which it was derived by removing a stroke — visually a diminished, weakened form. The reduction mirrors the idea of someone depleted, reaching out with nothing left.
他在街上乞讨，路人都很同情他。
tā zài jiē shàng qǐ tǎo，lù rén dōu hěn tóng qíng tā。
He was begging on the street, and passersby all felt sorry for him.
那个老人不得不向邻居乞食，生活十分艰难。
nà ge lǎo rén bù dé bù xiàng lín jū qǐ shí，shēng huó shí fēn jiān nán。
That old man had no choice but to beg food from his neighbors; life was extremely hard.
Words with 乞
乞丐
qǐ gài
beggar
乞人
qǐ rén
beggar
乞伏
qǐ fú
tribe of the Xianbei 鮮卑|鲜卑 nomadic people
乞休
qǐ xiū
to request permission to resign from an official position (old)
乞儿
qǐ ér
beggar
乞力马扎罗山
qǐ lì mǎ zhā luó shān
Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
乞和
qǐ hé
to sue for peace
乞哀告怜
qǐ āi gào lián
begging for pity and asking for help (idiom)
乞恕
qǐ shù
to beg forgiveness
乞怜
qǐ lián
to beg for pity
乞求
qǐ qiú
to beg
乞讨
qǐ tǎo
to beg