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透支 (tòu zhī) — (banking) to overdraw; an overdraft; to overspend (spend more than one's income); (figurative) to exhaust (energy, health, resources) through overuse

Definition

透支 (tòu zhī) means to overdraw — literally in banking, figuratively for exhausting health or energy through overuse. Often pairs with 身体/健康 in the sense of wearing down one's reserves.

verb
(banking) to overdrawan overdraftto overspend (spend more than one's income)(figurative) to exhaust (energy, health, resources) through overuse

Examples

  • 透支，。
    Wǒ de yín háng zhàng hù tòu zhī le, xū yào gǎn jǐn cún qián.
    My bank account is overdrawn; I need to deposit money quickly.
  • ，透支。
    Zhè ge yuè gōng zī hái méi fā, wǒ yǐ jīng tòu zhī le.
    This month's salary hasn't been paid yet, and I've already overspent.
  • 透支。
    Cháng qī áo yè huì tòu zhī shēn tǐ jiàn kāng.
    Staying up late for a long time will exhaust your health.

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.

透tòugo beyond
支zhīdraw

透 expresses going beyond a limit and 支 expresses drawing funds, so together they mean overdraw.

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
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
秀
秀xiù透tòu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 透 has 辵, a walking part, and 秀, which provides the sound.

Open 透 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

支 pairs 又 (hand) with 十, a shortened form of 竹 (bamboo), to picture a bamboo branch.

Open 支 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Finance & Banking

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