TongTong
Sign in

亏欠 (kuī qiàn) — to owe (money); to be in arrears; to feel indebted to; to owe (a debt of gratitude)

Definition

Cover two senses: literal debt (money owed) and figurative debt (gratitude, an explanation). The gratitude sense is the one English-speakers miss — it's the same verb as owing money, used for emotional or moral debt.

verb
to owe (money)to be in arrearsto feel indebted toto owe (a debt of gratitude)

Examples

  • 亏欠。
    Gōng sī qù nián kuī qiàn le yín háng yí dà bǐ qián.
    The company owed the bank a large sum of money last year.
  • 亏欠。
    Tā jué de zì jǐ kuī qiàn le fù mǔ hěn duō.
    He feels he owes his parents a lot.
  • 亏欠。
    Tā kuī qiàn le péng you yí gè jiě shì.
    He owes his friend an explanation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

亏kuīlack
欠qiànowe

亏 and 欠 both mean to lack or owe, so 亏欠 means to be in arrears or indebted.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 虧; 亏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亏亏kuīexhale
Sound part声符shēngfú
雐
雐hū虧kuī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 虧 pairs 雐, a sound part, with 亏, a part meaning exhale. The simplified 亏 is a later abbreviation.

Open 亏 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

欠 is a kneeling person with an open mouth, shown in actions such as begging, speaking, blowing, singing, or being tired.

Open 欠 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsFinance & Banking

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.