背债
bēi​zhài

indebted

背 bèi, bēi back Simplified

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 北 represents the sound.

Components

⺼
⺼ Meaning component
ròu meat, flesh

⺼ is a component form of 肉.

北
北 SoundMeaning component
běi north

北 also serves as a meaning component.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

褙揹

Meaning (1)

揹

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartbwojHm-pˤək-s turn the back on
pwojHpˤək-s the back

說文解字

《說文》：“背，也。从肉，北聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

债 zhài debt Simplified

A person's 亻 duty 责; 责 also provides the pronunciation

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person
责
责 SoundMeaning component
zé responsibility

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

揹 bēi carry things on one's back Traditional

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 背 represents the sound.

Components

扌
扌 Meaning component
shou, shǒu hand
背
背 SoundMeaning component
bèi, bēi back

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

債 zhài debt Traditional

A person's 亻 duty 責; 責 also provides the pronunciation

Components

亻
亻 Meaning component
rén person
責
責 SoundMeaning component
zé responsibility

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagarttsrɛHs-tˤrek-sdebt
Zhengzhangʔsreːɡs
ʔsreːɡ
Unicodejrɛi

說文解字

債負也。从人、責，責亦聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)