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赔偿 (péi cháng) — to compensate, to make up for (loss or damage)

Definition

赔偿 is the formal/legal term for compensating someone for loss or damage. Stronger than 补偿 (general make-up) and 弥补 (repairing a gap); less common than 赔 in everyday speech.

verb
to compensateto make up for (loss or damage)

Examples

  • 赔偿。
    Bǎo xiǎn gōng sī yǐ jīng péi cháng le tā de quán bù sǔn shī.
    The insurance company has already compensated him for all his losses.
  • 赔偿。
    Duì fāng tóng yì péi cháng yí bù fen yī liáo fèi yòng.
    The other party agreed to compensate part of the medical expenses.
  • 赔偿。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn jué tā bì xū péi cháng jīng shén sǔn hài.
    The court ruled that he must compensate for mental damages.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

赔péimake up for
偿chángrepay

赔 means to make up for a loss, and 偿 means to repay or settle it, giving the sense of compensation.

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 賠; 赔 is its simplified writing.

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

In the traditional form 賠, 貝 (shell; money) shows the idea of making amends, and 咅 supplies the sound; the simplified 赔 is a later shorthand.

Open 赔 →

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 償; 偿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
賞
賞shǎng償cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 償 pairs 亻 (person) with 賞 as the sound part; the simplified 偿 is a later shorthand, not a historical component breakdown.

Open 偿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Law & Justice

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