偿

償

cháng

亻 + 尝

Definitions

cháng (verb) to repay; to compensate

cháng (verb) to fulfill (hopes, dreams)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 尝 represents the sound. Simplified form of 償.

Semantic: 亻 Phonetic: 尝

About

偿 is a phono-semantic compound: the left-side radical 亻 (person, human action) indicates the meaning, and the right-side component 尝 gives the sound. It is the simplified form of 償; in the traditional character, the phonetic component was 賞, replaced by the simpler, similar-sounding 尝. The meaning centers on a person restoring balance through payment, repaying a debt, compensating for a loss, or fulfilling an obligation, with an underlying sense of financial or moral restitution that has persisted throughout its usage.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他偿还了债务。

Tā chánghuán le zhàiwù.

He repaid the debt.

公司愿意补偿损失。

Gōngsī yuànyì bǔcháng sǔnshī.

The company is willing to compensate for the loss.

下个月我必须偿还信用卡。

Xià gè yuè wǒ bìxū chánghuán xìnyòngkǎ.

Next month I must repay the credit card.

如果无法偿还贷款，银行会收取利息。

Rúguǒ wúfǎ chánghuán dàikuǎn, yínháng huì shōuqǔ lìxī.

If you cannot repay the loan, the bank will charge interest.

为了补偿他的错误，他做了额外的工作。

Wèile bǔcháng tā de cuòwù, tā zuò le éwài de gōngzuò.

To compensate for his mistake, he did extra work.

债务已经被清偿了。

Zhàiwù yǐjīng bèi qīngcháng le.

The debt has already been cleared.

尽管他无偿提供了服务，但他希望得到一些补偿。

Jǐnguǎn tā wúcháng tígōng le fúwù, dàn tā xīwàng dédào yīxiē bǔcháng.

Although he provided the service for free, he hopes to get some compensation.

根据合同，他们必须按期偿还本金和利息。

Gēnjù hétóng, tāmen bìxū ànqī chánghuán běnjīn hé lìxī.

According to the contract, they must repay the principal and interest on schedule.

Related Characters

Component: 亻

Component: 尝

偿