赔 meaning and stroke order
To compensate for loss; to indemnify; to suffer a financial loss
How to write 赔, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 赔
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to compensate for loss
- to indemnify
- to suffer a financial loss
How 赔 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
贝 gives the meaning and 咅 hints at the sound.
Radical: 贝 (sea shell), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 赔
On the left is 贝 (bèi), a shell, which stood for money, and on the right is 咅 (pǒu), which gives the sound. Picture handing over shells as money to pay for something you broke.
赔 (péi) is used both for paying someone back for damage and for losing money yourself, as in business or gambling. It often appears in compounds like 赔偿 (péicháng) and 赔钱 (péiqián). Example: 你把我的手机摔坏了，要赔。(Nǐ bǎ wǒ de shǒujī shuāi huài le, yào péi.) You broke my phone, so you have to pay for it.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 赔 with 陪 (péi, to accompany), which sounds the same but has the 阝 radical instead of 贝. Remember that the money radical 贝 means paying, while 阝 is about keeping someone company.
Common words with 赔
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
赔 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 赔
How many strokes are in 赔?
赔 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 赔 mean?
赔 (péi) means to compensate for loss; to indemnify; to suffer a financial loss. A common word with it is 赔偿 (péicháng), meaning "to compensate".
How do you pronounce 赔?
赔 is pronounced péi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 赔?
The radical of 赔 is 贝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 赔 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 赔?
The traditional form of 赔 is 賠. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 赔 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 赔 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 赔 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 赔钱 and 亏本?
Both can mean losing money in business, but 赔钱 (péiqián) is more colloquial and can also mean paying for damages. 亏本 (kuīběn) only means losing your capital or selling at a loss.
How do you say 'to apologize' using 赔?
Use 赔礼 (péilǐ) or the set phrase 赔礼道歉 (péilǐ dàoqiàn), meaning to formally apologize. Here 赔 has the sense of making amends rather than paying money.