保险
bǎoxiǎn
The English word insurance is translated into Chinese as 保险 (bǎoxiǎn).
保险 refers to indemnity or insurance. You can build related terms by adding specific suffixes: to say 'insurance company', use 保险公司. For 'insurance premium', use 保险费. And for an 'insurance policy' document, use 保险单. When expressing the action of taking out insurance, you can use the verb 买 (mǎi, to buy) or 投保 (tóubǎo, to take out insurance).
Meaning: indemnity (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwan, people might use 保险 to refer to insurance. In Hong Kong, you may encounter the term baauhim (保險) for insurance.
How do you pronounce it?
bǎoxiǎn
Did you know?
- In colloquial Chinese, 保险 is often used as an adjective meaning 'foolproof' or 'guaranteed'. You can describe a plan as 很保险 if it is a safe bet with no risk of failure.
- The formal verb for taking out insurance, 投保, contains the character 投, which means 'to throw' or 'to cast'. This suggests the act of casting one's lot or throwing oneself into a protected status.
- Long before corporate policies, Chinese communities practiced 互助, or 'mutual aid'. This traditional social safety net served as a cultural precursor to modern 保险.
Examples in context
- 为什么你买了旅行保险？Why did you buy travel insurance?This sentence is useful for asking about the reason for buying 保险.Tatoeba #9932501 by SbrAkr, translation #6953275 by Eccles17
- 公司的医疗保险覆盖了全部的医疗费用。The company medical treatment insurance covered all the medical treatment costs.This sentence shows how to use 保险 when discussing medical coverage.Tatoeba #805555 by fucongcong, translation #5870613 by peterius
- 万一船运迟了，我们有特别的迟到保险。In case the shipment is delayed, we have special delay insurance.This sentence illustrates using 保险 in the context of shipment delays.Tatoeba #812222 by fucongcong, translation #23689 by CC
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing their company benefits.
- 佳怡 Jiayi伟，你买了公司的医疗保险吗？Wěi, nǐ mǎile gōngsī de yīliáo bǎoxiǎn ma?Wei, did you buy the company's medical insurance?
- 伟 Wei我还没买，怎么办理？Wǒ hái méi mǎi, zěnme bànlǐ?I haven't bought it yet, how do I apply?
- 佳怡 Jiayi你可以向人事部申请保险。Nǐ kěyǐ xiàng rénshì bù shēnqǐ bǎoxiǎn.You can apply for the insurance through the HR department.
- 伟 Wei好的，谢谢佳怡。Hǎo de, xièxiè Jiāyí.Okay, thank you Jiayi.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
