missing character; omitted character; blank type
Refers to a character that should be present but is missing, or the act of omitting it. Often contrasted with 脱字 (dropped character) and 誤字 (wrong character).
See also: 脱字
I found a missing character during proofreading.
respectful blank space before and after names of dignitaries
Historical practice in formal writing where blank spaces were inserted around the names of high-ranking individuals as a mark of respect. Not used in modern Japanese.
This document has many omitted characters and is hard to read.
In old documents, blank spaces were used before and after the names of nobles.
Standard modern spelling for 'missing character'.
Archaic kanji form; 闕 is a rare variant of 欠.
Compound of 欠 (lack, missing) and 字 (character). The historical respectful spacing sense derives from the same idea of 'leaving a blank'.