倒贴 (dào tiē) — (of a business or transaction) to operate at a loss; to pay instead of receiving payment; (colloquial, especially of a woman) to financially support a lover or partner; (colloquial, extended) to do something that goes against normal social or economic expectations

Definition

倒贴 (dào tiē) means paying out money when you should be receiving it — losing money on a deal, or (colloquially) a woman financially supporting a partner. Sense 1 covers businesses/transactions; sense 2 is the slang about relationships.

verb
(of a business or transaction) to operate at a lossto pay instead of receiving payment(colloquial, especially of a woman) to financially support a lover or partner(colloquial, extended) to do something that goes against normal social or economic expectations

Examples

  • ，倒贴。
    Zhè jiā xiǎo diàn shēng yì bù hǎo, měi gè yuè dōu zài dào tiē qián.
    This small shop isn't doing well — it's losing money every month.
  • 倒贴。
    Tā wèi le nà ge nán péng you dào tiē le hěn duō qián.
    She spent a lot of money supporting that boyfriend.
  • ，倒贴？
    Ràng nǐ bāng máng huán gěi wǒ qián, zhè bú shì dào tiē ma?
    Asking you to help and then paying you back — isn't that backwards?

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.

倒dǎoreverse/instead
贴tiēpay/subsidize

倒 suggests paying the other way around, while 贴 means paying out or subsidizing.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

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 貼; 贴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn貼tiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貼 pairs 貝, a shell, with 占 as a sound part; the simplified 贴 is a later shorthand.

Open 贴 →

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