抵偿 (dǐ cháng) — to compensate for, to make good, to give someth… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/legal verb meaning 'to compensate for, make good (a loss or debt).' Compared with 补偿, 抵偿 emphasizes repaying something of equal value to offset a loss, often in financial or legal contexts.

verb

to compensate forto make goodto give something as payment (often in formal or legal contexts)

Examples

抵偿。
Gōng sī yòng xiàn jīn dǐ cháng le suǒ yǒu sǔn shī.
The company compensated for all losses with cash.
抵偿。
Tā nǔ lì gōng zuò lái dǐ cháng guò qù de cuò wù.
He works hard to make up for past mistakes.
抵偿。
Zhè bǐ péi cháng jīn zú yǐ dǐ cháng tā de yī liáo fèi yòng.
This compensation is enough to cover his medical expenses.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

抵dǐoffset

抵 and 偿 both express making good a loss; together they mean compensate.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

氐

氐dī抵

Same sound today

抵 pairs 手 (hand) with 氐, which gives its sound.

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.

亻賞償

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.

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