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偿还 (cháng huán) — to repay, to pay back (a debt, loan, etc.)

Definition

偿还 (cháng huán) means 'to repay' a debt or loan — neutral, often used for money owed. 赔偿 is for compensating damage/loss, not paying back borrowed money.

verb
to repayto pay back (a debt, loan, etc.)

Examples

  • 偿还。
    Tā nǔ lì gōng zuò yǐ cháng huán zhài wù.
    He works hard to repay his debts.
  • 偿还。
    Gōng sī xū yào cháng huán yín háng de dài kuǎn.
    The company needs to repay the bank loan.
  • 偿还。
    Zhè bǐ qián shì yòng lái cháng huán qiàn kuǎn de.
    This money is used to pay back what is owed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

偿chángrepay
还háireturn

The characters 偿 and 还 both mean to pay back, so together they form the idea of repayment.

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 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 →

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 還; 还 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng還hái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 還 pairs 辵 (walk) with 睘 as a sound part for 'go back; return'; the simplified 还 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 还 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Finance & Banking

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