Meaning of 赔偿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to compensate
How to use 赔偿
赔偿 is used when someone must pay for damage, injury, or loss they caused, often in legal, insurance, or formal contexts. It can be a verb or a noun meaning compensation. Example: 公司赔偿了他一万元。(Gōngsī péichángle tā yí wàn yuán.) The company compensated him 10,000 yuan.
Both characters deal with paying back. 赔 (péi) has the shell radical 贝, an old symbol of money, and 偿 (cháng) has the person radical 亻, so picture a person handing over money to make up for a loss.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 赔偿 and 补偿 (bǔcháng). 赔偿 implies fault, paying for harm you caused, while 补偿 is broader and can mean making up for something with no blame involved, like 补偿睡眠 (making up for lost sleep).
赔偿 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
赔 péi · to compensate for loss · 12 strokes
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偿 cháng · to repay · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 赔偿.
| 补偿 | bǔcháng | to compensate; to make up |
| 偿还 | chánghuán | to repay; to reimburse |
| 赔钱 | péiqián | to lose money; to suffer a financial loss; to pay for damages |
| 如愿以偿 | rúyuànyǐcháng | to have one's wish fulfilled |
| 索赔 | suǒpéi | to ask for compensation; to claim damages |
| 无偿 | wúcháng | free; no charge; at no cost |
| 得不偿失 | débùchángshī | the gains do not make up for the losses (idiom) |
| 赔率 | péilǜ | betting odds |
| 赔偿金 | péichángjīn | compensation |
| 偿命 | chángmìng | to pay with one's life |
| 理赔 | lǐpéi | to settle a claim; claims settlement |
Questions about 赔偿
What does 赔偿 mean?
赔偿 (péicháng) means "to compensate" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 赔偿?
赔偿 is made of 2 characters: 赔 (12 strokes), 偿 (11 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 赔偿 an HSK word?
Yes. 赔偿 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 赔偿 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 赔偿 is written 賠償.
How do I say "ask for compensation" in Chinese?
Use 要求赔偿 (yāoqiú péicháng) or the more formal 索赔 (suǒpéi). For example, 他向保险公司索赔。(Tā xiàng bǎoxiǎn gōngsī suǒpéi.) He filed a claim with the insurance company.
What is the difference between 赔偿 and 赔钱?
赔钱 (péiqián) is more colloquial and can also mean simply losing money, such as a business losing money. 赔偿 is more formal and focuses on compensating someone else for a loss or injury.