债务 (zhài wù) — debt; liability | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Strictly the legal/financial noun 'debt, liability' — a more formal, written counterpart to the verb 欠 ('to owe'). Use 债券 for bonds and 窟窿 for a colloquial financial hole.

noun

debtliability

Measure word · 笔

Examples

债务。
Gōng sī bì xū jǐn kuài huán qīng suǒ yǒu zhài wù.
The company must pay off all its debts as soon as possible.
债务。
Tā yīn wèi zhài wù wèn tí ér shī mián.
He lost sleep over his debt problems.
。
Guó jiā de wài zhài wù zhèng zài zhú nián jiǎn shǎo.
The country's foreign debt is decreasing year by year.

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.

债zhàidebt

务wùobligation

债 gives debt and 务 an obligation, together meaning debt or liability.

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 債; 债 is its simplified writing.

亻責債

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 →

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 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

敄

敄wù務wù

Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

Open 务 →

Appears in