拖欠
tuō qiàn · HSK 7
behind in payments
💸 拖 (drag out) + 欠 (owe) = dragging out what you owe = behind on payments
拖 means to drag or delay; 欠 means to owe or lack. Together they describe debts you keep dragging out instead of settling, i.e. being in arrears or defaulting.
拖 — hand radical 扌 + 它 (tā, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning, indicating an action done with the hand—pulling or dragging. The right side 它 (originally depicting a snake) supplies the sound. Together 拖 came to mean 'to drag, pull, or haul.'
欠 — person 人 below + open mouth 欠 top (yawning figure)
Pictograph of a person kneeling with mouth wide open, exhaling — originally depicting a yawn or breath. From this came meanings like 'to lack' or 'to owe', as if something is missing or breathed out. It now serves as a radical in characters related to breathing, singing, or desire (歌, 歡, 欲).