欠账 (qiàn zhàng) — to owe a debt

Definition

欠账 (qiàn zhàng) literally means 'to owe an account/debt' and focuses on the state of being in debt. It emphasizes the unpaid amount itself, unlike 借 (jiè), which just means 'to borrow' without implying an unpaid balance.

verb
to owe a debt

Examples

  • 欠账，。
    Tā yīn wèi zuò shēng yi qiàn zhàng, xiàn zài yā lì hěn dà.
    He owes debts because of his business, and now he's under a lot of pressure.
  • ，。
    Tā qiàn le yì bǐ zhàng, zhì jīn méi hái.
    He owes a debt that he still hasn't repaid to this day.
  • 欠账？
    Nǐ shén me shí hou cái néng bǎ qiàn zhàng huán qīng?
    When will you finally be able to pay off your debts?

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
账zhàngdebt

欠 expresses owing and 账 names the debt, together meaning to owe a 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 賬; 账 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
長
長cháng賬
Same sound today

In the traditional form 賬, 貝 is a shell and 長 is used for the sound; the simplified 账 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 账 →

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