欠款 (qiàn kuǎn) — (verb-object) to owe money, to be in debt

Definition

欠款 is a separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to owe money'. It consists of 欠 'owe' and 款 'money/sum', but when you need to specify an amount, duration, or aspect, you split them: 欠了一笔款 (owed a sum), 欠过款 (have owed money before). The person who is owed money is introduced with 向: 向银行欠款 (owe money to the bank). Note: 欠款 is also commonly used as a noun meaning 'debt', but this row treats it strictly as a verb-object.

v.o.

(verb-object) to owe moneyto be in debt

Examples

。
Tā qiàn le yì bǐ kuǎn.
He owes a sum of money.
。
Zhè jiā gōngsī qiàn kuǎn hěn duō.
This company owes a lot of money.
。
Tā yīnwèi qiàn kuǎn bèi qǐsù le.
He was sued because of owing money.

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