zaai3債债
Jyutpingzaai3
Yalejaai
Definition
Debt; money or a favor owed to someone.
neutralmoneyother
How it's used
Beyond financial obligations, this word is frequently used in the context of emotional or moral burdens, such as owing someone a favor or a debt of gratitude. It often appears in the phrase 欠債, which emphasizes the state of being in debt rather than the debt itself. When referring to a specific amount of money owed, it is almost always paired with the measure word 筆.
Measure word
bat1筆bātExamples
He owes a lot of debt, so he has to move house all the time.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 責, which is a common character in words like 責任. While they may look similar, 債 specifically relates to owing something, whereas 責 relates to duty or blame.
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).
