偿还
cháng huán · HSK 7
to repay
💰 compensate + return = pay back what you owe
偿 means to compensate or make up for something. 还 means to return or give back. Together they describe formally settling a debt or reimbursing someone in full.
还 — 辶 (walk) + 不 (not) — phonetic
还 is the simplified form of 還. The traditional form combines the walking radical 辶 with 睘 (a phonetic element originally depicting an eye over a ring), suggesting 'to go around and return.' The simplified 还 keeps 辶 and replaces 睘 with 不 as a simpler phonetic. Core meaning: return, still, also.