Chinese word

债

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhài

Meaning

  • noundebt

Example

他欠了很多债，还不起。tā qiàn le hěn duō zhài huán bù qǐ

He has a lot of debt and can't pay it back.

Illustration for 债 (debt)

More examples

投资者购买了很多国债来分散风险。tóu zī zhě gòu mǎi le hěn duō guó zhài lái fēn sàn fēng xiǎn

Investors purchased many government bonds to diversify their risk.

Core concept

A balance of value owed to another person or institution and waiting to be paid back.

Common phrases

  • 国债guó zhài

    government bonds

  • 外债wài zhài

    foreign debt

  • 发行债券fā xíng zhài quàn

    issue bonds

Similar words

债务zhài wù: A monetary obligation under a contract or law that must be repaid.
负债fù zhài: The total amount of money owed and still needing to be paid.
贷款dài kuǎn: Money lent by a bank or other financial institution.
债权zhài quán: The right of a lender to receive repayment from a borrower.

Definition in Chinese

因借入或占用他人财物而对他人负有偿还义务的金钱或责任，常指需要归还的欠款。yīn jiè rù huò zhàn yòng tā rén cái wù ér duì tā rén fù yǒu cháng huán yì wù de jīn qián huò zé rèn cháng zhǐ xū yào guī huán de qiàn kuǎn

Word origin

The character 债 (zhài, "debt") combines 亻 (rén, "person") for the human side of the idea with 责 (zé, "blame") for its sound, linking the written form to a personal claim.

Usage tips

  • The word covers ordinary borrowing between people as well as bank or contract liabilities, so a formal financial setting is not required.

Opposites

Related words

  • 债券zhài quànbondnoun
  • 债务人zhài wù réndebtornoun
  • 债主zhài zhǔcreditornoun

Word lists with this word