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欠债 (qiàn zhài) — to owe a debt

Definition

欠债 means to owe money — a fixed verb-object phrase where 欠 ('owe') takes 债 ('debt') as its object. Use 借 when borrowing (the act), 欠债 when you already owe.

verb
to owe a debt

Examples

  • ，欠债。
    Tā zuò shēng yi shī bài hòu, qiàn zhài hěn duō.
    After his business failed, he owed a lot of debts.
  • ，。
    Wèi le mǎi fáng, tā jiā qiàn le yín háng yì bǐ zhài.
    To buy the house, his family owed the bank a sum of debt.
  • ？
    Nǐ qiàn guò zhài ma?
    Have you ever owed a debt?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

欠qiànowe
债zhàidebt

欠 means owe and 债 means debt, so the idea is being in debt.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 債; 债 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé債zhài
Same sound today

The traditional form 債 combines 亻 (person) with 責 as a sound part; the simplified 债 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 债 →
Appears in
Finance & Banking

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