to1 him3拖欠
Jyutpingto1 him3
Yaletō him
Definition
To fall into arrears with; to delay a payment that is due.
writtenmoneywork
How it's used
This term carries a formal and serious tone, often appearing in legal, financial, or news contexts. While it describes the act of owing money past a deadline, it implies a sense of negligence or inability to pay rather than a simple, neutral debt. It is rarely used in casual conversation between friends, where people would instead use phrases like 爭錢.
Examples
The boss has been behind on paying employees' wages for three months.
Why have you been behind on your rent for so long?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use this for any kind of debt, but it specifically refers to overdue payments that were expected by a certain date. It is not appropriate for describing a casual loan between friends, which is better expressed as 爭人錢.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
