How to say “owe” in Chinese
owe
“Owe” in Chinese is 欠, qiàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
欠 is read qiàn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
A drawing of a person with an open mouth: the first meaning is “to yawn”. Hints at the reading of 歉 qiàn.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “欠”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 欠. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我还欠你一顿饭呢。wǒháiqiànnǐyídùnfànneI still owe you a meal.
- 我还欠他一千块钱wǒháiqiàntāyìqiānkuàiqiánI still owe him a thousand yuan.
- 我还欠你多少钱？wǒháiqiànnǐduōshaoqiánHow much do I still owe you?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Rich and poor”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “owe” in Chinese?
“Owe” in Chinese is 欠, pinyin qiàn.
What does 欠 mean?
欠 (qiàn) means “owe”.
How do you write 欠?
欠 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 欠?
欠 is read qiàn. Tones: qiàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“owe” in the lesson “Rich and poor”
This word is from the topic “Economy” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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