TongTong
Sign in

欠条 (qiàn tiáo) — IOU; promissory note

Definition

A 欠条 is a simple personal IOU — an informal handwritten note acknowledging a debt. Compared with 借条, it is the note written by the debtor (one who owes); with 债券, it is informal, between individuals, not a formal tradable security.

noun
IOUpromissory note
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 欠条。
    Nǐ jiè qián de shí hou yīng gāi xiě yì zhāng qiàn tiáo.
    You should write an IOU when borrowing money.
  • 欠条。
    Zhè zhāng qiàn tiáo yí dìng yào bǎo guǎn hǎo.
    You must keep this IOU safe.
  • ，欠条。
    Tā hái qián hòu, wǒ bǎ qiàn tiáo huán gěi le tā.
    After he repaid the money, I returned the IOU to him.

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.

欠qiànowe
条tiáonote

A 条 (note) records something 欠 (owed), hence an IOU.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

欠 is a kneeling person with an open mouth, shown in actions such as begging, speaking, blowing, singing, or being tired.

Open 欠 →

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

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.