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赌债 (dǔ zhài) — gambling debt

Definition

noun
gambling debt
Measure word · 笔

Examples

  • 赌债。
    Tā yīn wèi dǔ zhài qiàn le hěn duō qián.
    He owes a lot of money because of gambling debts.
  • 赌债。
    dǔ zhài Ràng tā jiā pò rén wáng.
    Gambling debts ruined his family and drove him to ruin.
  • 赌债。
    Tā wèi le hái dǔ zhài mài diào le fáng zi.
    He sold his house to pay off his gambling debts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

赌dǔgambling
债zhàidebt

赌债 joins 赌 'gambling' and 债 'debt' for money owed from gambling.

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 賭; 赌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě賭dǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賭 combines 貝 (shell; money) with 者, and this shape expresses the meaning to wager or to bet. The simplified 赌 is a shorthand.

Open 赌 →

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
Gambling & ChanceMoney & Currency

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