赔 (péi) — to compensate, to pay for damage or loss; to lose money (in business or investment)
Definition
Single-character verb meaning 'to compensate / to pay for damage' and also 'to lose money' in a deal. More colloquial than the written 补偿 or 赔偿; for debts use 偿还, for overall business losses use 亏本.
verb
to compensateto pay for damage or lossto lose money (in business or investment)
Examples
- ，赔。Wǒ nòng huài le nǐ de shǒu jī, yīng gāi péi nǐ.I broke your phone and should compensate you.
- 赔。Zhè cì zuò shēng yi péi le bù shǎo qián.This business venture lost a lot of money.
- ，。Tā bù xiǎo xīn dǎ pò le shāng diàn de bō li, zhǐ hǎo péi qián.He accidentally broke the store's window and had to pay compensation.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
Appears in
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