This kanji depicts a person opening their mouth wide, as if yawning. Therefore, it came to mean a lack or deficiency of something.
deficiency(欠)
next(次)
This kanji depicts a person opening his mouth wide, as if letting out a sigh. Combined with the symbol for ‘two,’ it came to mean ‘to move on to the next’ or ‘second in order.’
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sing(歌)
In this figure, you can clearly see a person opening their mouth wide to pour their heart out. This character perfectly captures that expressive action to mean ‘sing’.