TongTong
Sign in

负债 (fù zhài) — to be in debt; to incur debt

Definition

Formal/business term meaning 'to be in debt'. 欠 is everyday ('owe someone a small amount'); 负债 is used for companies, banks, and serious personal debt in formal contexts.

verb
to be in debtto incur debt

Examples

  • 负债。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī fù zhài hěn duō.
    This company is heavily in debt.
  • 。
    Tā wèi le chuàng yè fù le hěn duō zhài.
    He incurred a lot of debt to start a business.
  • 负债。
    Wǒ men bú yīng gāi fù zhài shēng huó.
    We shouldn't live in debt.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

负fùbear
债zhàidebt

负债 joins 负, to bear or incur, with 债, debt, giving the sense of carrying debt.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 負; 负 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 負 combines 人 (person) and 貝 (cowry), with 人 written as ⺈; the simplified 负 is a later abbreviation.

Open 负 →

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

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