补交 (bǔ jiāo) — to submit or pay after the deadline; to make up a missed submission or payment

Definition

verb
to submit or pay after the deadlineto make up a missed submission or payment
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，补交。
    Tā yīn wèi shēng bìng, suǒ yǐ xū yào bǔ jiāo zuò yè.
    Because he was sick, he needs to hand in his homework late.
  • ，补交。
    Zhè ge yuè de diàn fèi wǒ wàng le jiāo, míng tiān dé qù bǔ jiāo.
    I forgot to pay this month's electricity bill, I have to go make a late payment tomorrow.
  • ，补交？
    Rú guǒ nǐ cuò guò le bào míng shí jiān, kě yǐ bǔ jiāo cái liào ma?
    If you missed the registration deadline, can you submit the materials late?

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.

补bǔmake up
交jiāosubmit

补 adds making up to 交, so it means submitting after the deadline.

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 補; 补 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
甫
甫fǔ補bǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 補 shows 衤 (clothes) beside 甫, which gives the sound; the simplified 补 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical breakdown.

Open 补 →

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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