Meaning of 报答
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to repay
- to requite
How to use 报答
报答 is used for repaying kindness, help, or care, not money. It often appears with 恩 (ēn, kindness or grace) or with parents and teachers. Example: 我要好好学习，报答父母。(Wǒ yào hǎohǎo xuéxí, bàodá fùmǔ.) I will study hard to repay my parents.
Think of 报 (bào) as reporting back and 答 (dá) as answering. When someone is kind to you, you answer that kindness by giving something back, so 报答 means to repay.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 报答 for paying back a loan, but that is 还钱 (huán qián) or 偿还 (chánghuán). Also note 答 here is second tone dá, not the neutral-tone da heard in 答应 (dāying).
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
报 bào · to report · 7 strokes
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- 2
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- 7
答 dá · to answer · 12 strokes
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- 2
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Related words
Words that share a character with 报答.
| 回答 | huídá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 答应 | dāying | to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 报纸 | bàozhǐ | newspaper; newsprint |
| 报名 | bàomíng | to sign up; to enter one's name |
| 日报 | rìbào | daily newspaper |
| 晚报 | wǎnbào | evening newspaper; (in a newspaper's name) Evening News |
| 报告 | bàogào | to inform; to report |
| 报道 | bàodào | to report (news); report |
| 报到 | bàodào | to report for duty; to check in |
| 预报 | yùbào | forecast |
| 答案 | dá'àn | answer; solution |
| 汇报 | huìbào | to report; to give an account of |
Questions about 报答
What does 报答 mean?
报答 (bàodá) means "to repay; to requite" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 报答?
报答 is made of 2 characters: 报 (7 strokes), 答 (12 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 报答 an HSK word?
Yes. 报答 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 报答 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 报答 is written 報答.
What is the difference between 报答 and 回报?
Both can mean to repay kindness, but 回报 (huíbào) can also be a noun meaning a return or reward, as in investment returns. 报答 is a verb and sounds more emotional and personal.
Can 报答 be used in a negative sense, like revenge?
No. 报答 is only for repaying good deeds. For revenge, Chinese uses 报复 (bàofù) or 报仇 (bàochóu).