清偿 (qīng cháng) — to pay off (a debt), to clear (a debt)

Definition

Formal/legal verb meaning 'to pay off or clear a debt completely', used for loans and arrears in business, banking, or official contexts rather than everyday borrowing.

verb
to pay off (a debt)to clear (a debt)

Examples

  • 清偿。
    Tā qīng cháng le suǒ yǒu zhài wù.
    He paid off all his debts.
  • 清偿。
    Gōng sī yòng nà bǐ zī jīn qīng cháng le yín háng dài kuǎn.
    The company used that sum of money to clear the bank loan.
  • ，清偿。
    Jīng guò wǔ nián nǔ lì, tā zhōng yú qīng cháng le quán bù qiàn kuǎn.
    After five years of effort, he finally paid off all his arrears.

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.

清qīngclear
偿chángrepay

清 means to clear and 偿 means to repay, together describing paying off a debt.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng清qīng
Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

Open 清 →

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 →

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