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还贷 (huán dài) — to repay a loan

Definition

A verb-object compound ('repay' + 'loan') that functions as one verb. Note the tonal switch: 还 is 2nd tone here (huán, return money), not huán meaning 'still'.

verb
to repay a loan

Examples

  • 还贷。
    Tā měi gè yuè dōu yào huán dài.
    He has to repay the loan every month.
  • 。
    Wǒ qù nián hái le yí cì dài.
    I repaid the loan once last year.
  • 还贷。
    Yín háng tóng yì tā yán qī huán dài.
    The bank agreed to let him extend the loan repayment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

还háirepay
贷dàiloan

还 (repay) names the action and 贷 the loan, so it means repaying a loan.

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 還; 还 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng還hái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 還 pairs 辵 (walk) with 睘 as a sound part for 'go back; return'; the simplified 还 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 还 →

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 貸; 贷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
代
代dài貸dài
Same sound today

The traditional form 貸 pairs 貝 (shell) with 代, which gives its sound; the simplified 贷 is a later shorthand. It originally meant to give or bestow, later to lend.

Open 贷 →
Appears in
Finance & Banking

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