償

Represents the act of making things right—repaying debt, compensating loss, or restoring balance after harm.

A phono-semantic compound:

人 (person) — semantic component, human responsibility and action

賞 (reward, recompense) — phonetic component, providing pronunciation and semantic nuance

The character conveys the idea of a person giving recompense, especially after harm or loss, distinguishing it from simple giving.

報償 (보상) — compensation; recompense

賠償 (배상) — indemnification; damages

代償 (대상) — compensation; price paid for something

償却 (상각) — depreciation (accounting)

補償 (보상) — compensation; indemnity

Relationship with related characters:

償 — to compensate or repay after loss or wrongdoing

還 — to return something borrowed

賠 — to compensate (often monetary, external focus)

報 — to repay or recompense (broader, includes gratitude or revenge)

償 implies responsibility and balance, often moral or legal.

In classical law texts, it is closely tied to punitive justice.

In modern usage, it spans finance, law, ethics, and psychology.

As an accounting term, it reflects gradual repayment or loss allocation (償却).

Classical citations:

In classical usage, 償 frequently appears in contexts of crime, punishment, and moral balance, sometimes extending to life-for-life retribution.

《左傳》 (Zuo Zhuan)

「以死償之。」

“He repaid it with his life.”

《史記》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「罪當償命。」

“The crime requires repayment with one’s life.”

《漢書》 (Book of Han)

「償其所失。」

“He compensated what had been lost.”