债 (zhài): debt, CL:筆|笔[bi3]
债 (zhài) is a Chinese character meaning “debt.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 责 (structural). It ranks #1218 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 债 a person's 亻 duty 责; 责 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- debt
- Classifier: 筆|笔[bi3]
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person's 亻 duty 责; 责 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰亻责 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 债务 | zhài wù | debt |
| 债券 | zhài quàn | bond |
| 还债 | huán zhài | to settle a debt |
| 血债 | xuè zhài | debt of blood (after killing sb) |
| 欠债 | qiàn zhài | to owe a debt |
| 负债 | fù zhài | to be in debt |
| 债主 | zhài zhǔ | creditor |
| 负债累累 | fù zhài lěi lěi | deep in debt |
| 讨债 | tǎo zhài | to demand repayment |
| 放债 | fàng zhài | to lend money (for interest) |
| 公债 | gōng zhài | government bond |
| 债款 | zhài kuǎn | debt |
| 人情债 | rén qíng zhài | debt of gratitude |
| 债权人 | zhài quán rén | creditor |
| 债台高筑 | zhài tái gāo zhù | lit. build a high desk of debt (idiom) |
债 appears in 60 compound words: 23 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 20 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 债 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
他欠了很多债务，每天都在为还钱而发愁。
Tā qiàn le hěn duō zhàiwù, měitiān dōu zài wèi huán qián ér fāchóu.
He owes a lot of debt and worries about paying it back every day.
...信首档ETF‘00988B 玉山严选非投债ETF’3/2正式募集
. . . xìn shǒu dàng E T F 0 0 9 8 8 B yù shān yán xuǎn fēi tóu zhài E T F 3 2 zhèng shì mù jí
... Xin's first ETF '00988B Yushan Yanxuan Non-investment Bond ETF'3/2 was officially raised
沃达丰宣布赎回2028年到期美元债券
wò dá fēng xuān bù shú huí 2 0 2 8 nián dào qī měi yuán zhài quàn
Vodafone announced the redemption of US dollar bonds due 2028
花样年境外债重组 终获债权人批准
huā yàng nián jìng wài zhài chóng zǔ zhōng huò zhài quán rén pī zhǔn
Fantasia's overseas debt restructuring was finally approved by creditors
被欠钱“拖过年” 女撂男友讨债砍前任一家三代
bèi qiàn qián tuō guò nián nǚ 撂 nán yǒu tǎo zhài kǎn qián rèn yī jiā sān dài
Being owed money "dragged on for the New Year" The woman abandoned her boyfriend to collect debts and cut off three generations of her ex's family
韩国3年期公司债收益率上涨3.00个基点至3.73..
hán guó nián qī gōng sī zhài shōu yì lǜ shǎng zhǎng . gě jī diǎn zhì . . .
South Korea's 3-year corporate bond yield rose 3.00 basis points to 3.73...
每个月还清信用卡负债很重要。
Měi gè yuè huánqīng xìnyòngkǎ fùzhài hěn zhòngyào.
It makes sense to pay off your credit card balance every month.
你只需要喊他还债就行。
Nǐ zhǐ xūyào hǎn tā huánzhài jiù xíng.
All you have to do is ask him to pay the debt.
有些人负债累累。
Yǒuxiērén fùzhàilěilěi.
There are people drowning in debt.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 债 (zhài)?
Is 债 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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