Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 借款 | jièkuǎn |
| 欠款 | qiànkuǎn |
| 債務 / 债务 | zhàiwù |
In Chinese, several words describe debt depending on whether you are focusing on the loan itself, the amount owed or the legal state of liability. To express the verb phrase 'to owe a debt', one commonly uses 欠债.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 借款 (jièkuǎn) literally means 'borrowed money'. The term 欠款 (qiànkuǎn) literally means 'money that is owed'.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on your focus: use 借款 when focusing on the act of borrowing or the loan itself, and use 欠款 when focusing on the fact that the money is currently overdue or unpaid. While 借款 and 欠款 often refer to specific sums of money, 债务 is a more formal term used to describe the state of being in debt or legal liabilities. Additionally, 负债 specifically refers to liabilities or debts that are owed by individuals or organizations.
How do you pronounce it?
jièkuǎn
Did you know?
- In some traditional contexts, the phrase 欠债 can be used metaphorically to describe a karmic debt from a past life that must be repaid in the current one.
- The character 欠 (qiàn), which appears in words like 欠款 (qiànkuǎn), is also the radical used in the Chinese character for 'to yawn'. In ancient scripts, it depicted a person with an open mouth, linking the physical act of breathing or yawning to the concept of 'lacking' or 'owing'.
- The character 债 in 债务 contains the 'silver' or 'metal' radical 贝, which in ancient Chinese represented cowrie shells used as currency.
Examples in context
- 我有一笔债务需要偿还I have a debt that needs to be repaid.
- 企业的负债总额在增长The company's total debt is increasing.
- 他欠款很多，已经无法偿还He owes a lot of money and is unable to repay it.
- 他因为买房子负了很多债He incurred a lot of debt from buying a house.
- 这笔借款已经还清了。Zhè bǐ jièkuǎn yǐjīng huán qīng le.This loan has already been fully repaid.
- 我们需要申请一笔新的借款。Wǒmen xūyào shēnqǐng yì bǐ xīn de jièkuǎn.We need to apply for a new loan.
- 他在处理这笔借款的具体细节。Tā zài chǔlǐ zhè bǐ jièkuǎn de jùtǐ xìjié.He is handling the specific details of this loan.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing a company matter in the office.
- 伟 Wei关于那笔借款，你问过了吗？Guānyú nà bǐ jièkuǎn, nǐ wèn guò le ma?Have you asked about that loan?
- 佳怡 Jiayi伟，我已经联系银行了。Wěi, wǒ yǐjīng liánxì yínháng le.Wei, I have already contacted the bank.
- 伟 Wei佳怡，进展怎么样？Jiāyí, jìnzhǎn zěnmeyàng?Jiayi, how is the progress?
- 佳怡 Jiayi一切都在按计划进行。Yīqiè dōu zài àn jìhuà jìnxíng.Everything is going according to plan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “debt” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
