债 from HSK Level 6 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 债 (zhài) for "debt" is composed of two parts: the radical 责 (zé) on the left, which means "to blame" or "to hold responsible", and the phonetic component 甾 (zhāi), which is a simplified form of the character 甾 (zhāi), meaning "to borrow". Together, these two components convey the idea of "something that one is responsible for borrowing and must repay".The earliest known usage of the character 债 dates back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC), where it was used in oracle bone inscriptions to record debts owed by individuals or communities. Over time, the character's meaning expanded to include not only financial debts, but also moral obligations and responsibilities.In modern Chinese, 债 is commonly used in the context of financial transactions, such as loans, mortgages, and credit card debt. It can also be used in a more general sense to refer to any kind of obligation or burden that one must bear. For example, someone who has done something wrong may be said to have incurred a moral debt that they must repay through their actions.The character 债 is a versatile and important part of the Chinese language, and its etymology provides insight into the cultural and historical significance of debt and obligation in Chinese society.