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借条 (jiè tiáo) — a written IOU; a loan receipt

Definition

A 借条 is a written IOU that the borrower writes to acknowledge debt. Unlike 欠条 (written by the creditor), the 借条 is signed by the person who owes the money.

noun
a written IOUa loan receipt
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 借条，。
    Nǐ xiě yì zhāng jiè tiáo, wǒ cái néng jiè qián gěi nǐ.
    You have to write an IOU before I can lend you the money.
  • 借条，。
    Tā bǎ jiè tiáo sī le, shuō bú yòng hái le.
    He tore up the IOU and said there was no need to pay it back.
  • 借条，。
    Zhè zhāng jiè tiáo de jīn é tài dà le, wǒ bù gǎn qiān.
    The amount on this IOU is too large — I don't dare sign it.

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.

借jièborrow
条tiáoslip

'借' gives borrowing sense and '条' gives slip sense, together a written note for a loan.

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
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī借jiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

借 combines 人, a person, with 昔, which shows the sound.

Open 借 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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