zhài

debt

CL:筆|笔[bi3]

person (亻) + responsibility (责) = debt

责 means responsibility or duty, so a person bound by an obligation they must repay is precisely what debt means. The pairing is almost definitional: a human carrying a burden of accountability.

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A personSemantic
ResponsibilitySemantic

他借了很多钱,还没还完。

tā jiè le hěn duō qián, zhài hái méi huán wán。

He borrowed a lot of money; the debt still hasn't been fully repaid.

父母欠下的,让这个家庭压力很大。

fù mǔ qiàn xià de zhài, ràng zhè ge jiā tíng yā lì hěn dà。

The debt that the parents accumulated put a lot of pressure on this family.

Words with 债

连动债

lián dòng zhài

structured note (finance)

逼债

bī zhài

to press for payment of debts

还债

huán zhài

to settle a debt

风流债

fēng liú zhài

lit. love debt

三角债

sān jiǎo zhài

triangular debt

中短债

zhōng duǎn zhài

short- or medium-term loan

了债

liǎo zhài

to repay one's debt

人情债

rén qíng zhài

debt of gratitude

以债养债

yǐ zhài yǎng zhài

debt nurtures more debt (idiom)

以身抵债

yǐ shēn dǐ zhài

forced labor to repay a debt

借债

jiè zhài

to borrow money

借债人

jiè zhài rén

debtor

More characters with 亻