报恩 (bào ēn) — to repay a kindness, to show gratitude for a favor received
Definition
Literary/idiomatic verb meaning 'to repay a kindness received.' Fixed collocation — usually appears in set phrases like 报恩 or 滴水之恩当涌泉相报, not in everyday speech.
verb
to repay a kindnessto show gratitude for a favor received
Examples
- ，报恩。Tā duì wǒ shuō guò, yí dìng yào bào ēn.He told me that he must repay the kindness.
- ，？Nǐ bāng le wǒ zhè me duō, wǒ zěn me cái néng bào dé le zhè ge ēn ne?You've helped me so much — how can I ever repay this kindness?
- ，报恩。Gǔ rén cháng shuō, dī shuǐ zhī ēn dāng yǒng quán bào ēn.The ancients often said that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.
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