酬 (chóu): to entertain, to repay, to return
酬 (chóu) is a Chinese character meaning “to entertain.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 酉 (semantic) and 州 (phonetic). It ranks #1977 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 酬 wine. Its radical form 酉 (wine) appears in many related characters such as 配 (pèi, to join), 酸 (suān, sour), 醒 (xǐng, to wake up).
Definitions
- to entertain
- to repay
- to return
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 酬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 报酬noun | bào chou | reward |
| 酬劳verb | chóu láo | reward |
| 应酬verb | yìng chou | to engage in social activities |
| 酬金noun | chóu jīn | monetary reward |
| 酬谢verb | chóu xiè | to thank with a gift |
| 片酬noun | piàn chóu | remuneration for playing a role in a movie or television drama |
| 同工同酬phrase | tóng gōng tóng chóu | equal pay for equal work |
| 稿酬noun | gǎo chóu | fee paid to an author for a piece of writing |
| 天道酬勤phrase | tiān dào chóu qín | Heaven rewards the diligent. (idiom) |
| 酬宾noun | chóu bīn | bargain sale |
| 边际报酬 | biān jì bào chóu | marginal returns |
| 投资报酬率noun | tóu zī bào chóu lǜ | return on investment |
| 酬和verb | chóu hè | to respond to a poem with a poem |
| 酬对verb | chóu duì | (literary) to reply |
| 酬应 | chóu yìng | social interaction |
酬 appears in 27 compound words: 52 as the first character, 41 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 酬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
学习酬字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí chóu zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "酬" requires repeated practice to achieve neat and legible writing.
能源避险基金“无视川普”奏效 今年来报酬约35%
néng yuán bì xiǎn jī jīn wú shì chuān pǔ zòu xiào jīn nián lái bào chóu yuē 3 5
Energy Hedge Fund's 'Ignore Trump' Strategy Pays Off, Yielding About 35% Returns So Far This Year
...德思哲调查:78%受访者料未来18个月薪酬将持续增长
. . . dé sī zhé diào chá : 7 8 shòu fǎng zhě liào wèi lái 1 8 gè yuè xīn chóu jiāng chí xù zēng cháng
...Deloitte Survey: 78% of Respondents Expect Salaries to Continue Rising Over the Next 18 Months
薪酬差距扩大!韩大企业员工平均年薪首破1亿韩...
xīn chóu chā jù kuò dà ! hán dà qǐ yè yuán gōng píng jūn nián xīn shǒu pò 1 yì hán . . .
Wage Gap Widens! Average Annual Salary for Employees at Major Korean Companies Exceeds 100 Million Won for the First Time...
要跑赢大盘背 它锁定高报酬迎战震荡盘!
yāo pǎo yíng dà pán bèi tā suǒ dìng gāo bào chóu yíng zhàn zhèn dàng pán !
To outperform the market, bet on this—it’s poised to deliver high returns amid market volatility!
福遍县地区书记官庆马年 陪审员获酬劳红包
fú biàn xiàn dì qū shū jì guān qìng mǎ nián péi shěn yuán huò chóu láo hóng bāo
Fubian County District Clerk celebrates the Year of the Horse Jurors receive paid red envelopes
汤姆正考虑应聘薪酬更高的工作。
Tāngmǔ zhèng kǎolǜ yìngpìn xīnchóu gèng gāo de gōngzuò.
Tom is thinking about applying for a better-paying job.
这个工作没有酬劳。
Zhège gōngzuò méiyǒu chóuláo.
This job doesn't pay.
让我们平分这个报酬吧。
Ràng wǒmen píngfēn zhège bàochou ba.
Let's split the reward fifty-fifty.
他们希望会找到一份报酬优厚的工作。
Tāmen xīwàng huì zhǎodào yī fèn bàochou yōuhòu de gōngzuò.
They hope to be able to find a well-paid job.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 酉 (wine) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 酬 (chóu) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 酬 have?
What is the radical of 酬?
What are the components of 酬?
What are common words containing 酬?
What characters sound the same as 酬 (chóu)?
Is 酬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 酬 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.