赔钱 (péi qián) — to pay compensation; to pay for a loss; to suff…

Definition

A two-meaning verb: (1) to lose money in business; (2) to pay compensation for damage or injury. Context decides which sense applies.

verb

to pay compensationto pay for a lossto suffer financial losses (in business)

赔钱，。
Zhè cì shēng yì péi qián le, bù dé bù bǎ diàn guān le.
This business lost money, so we had to close the shop.
。
Tā péi le hěn duō qián gěi shòu shāng de gōng rén.
He paid a lot of compensation to the injured worker.
，。
Gōng sī qù nián péi guò yí cì qián, jīn nián zhōng yú yíng lì le.
The company lost money once last year, but finally turned a profit this year.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

赔péicompensate

赔 means to compensate, and 钱 means money, so the word denotes paying money or losing money.

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 賠; 赔 is its simplified writing.

貝咅賠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell; money

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu賠péi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 賠, 貝 (shell; money) shows the idea of making amends, and 咅 supplies the sound; the simplified 赔 is a later shorthand.

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 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

金戔錢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal; gold; money

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān錢qián

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Appears in