貸

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

貝 (조개 패) — semantic component, denoting valuables, currency, or wealth, as cowries were ancient money symbols.

代 (대신할 대) — phonetic component, providing the sound dài / dae and implying exchange, substitution, or rotation.

Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「貸，假予也。从貝，代聲。」

“貸 means to give temporarily (to lend). Composed of 貝 (‘valuables’) and the sound 代.”

Thus, 貸 originally meant to transfer valuables temporarily to another in exchange for repayment or obligation.

The notion of 代 (replacement, alternation) also reinforces the concept of reciprocal exchange — what is given now will be returned later.

Semantic development:

The core idea of 貸 evolved through three interrelated meanings:

Economic lending — giving money or goods on the promise of repayment.

Social or moral leniency — “to give allowance,” “to spare,” as in “to pardon or forgive.”

Metaphorical extension — “to grant temporarily,” e.g., life, favor, time.

Hence, 貸 could signify not only financial credit but also grace extended from a higher power or authority — a moral credit.

貸出 (대출) — to lend, loan out

貸付 (대부) — lending, financing

貸借 (대차) — lending and borrowing

貸與 (대여) — to lend; to provide for temporary use

貸金 (대금) — money lent; a loan

貸主 (대주) — lender

貸方 (대방) — creditor’s side (in accounting)

貸家 (대가) — rental house

貸本 (대본) — money lent; capital loan

融貸 (융대) — financial lending; credit financing

In modern Korean, 대출 (貸出) and 대여 (貸與) remain standard economic terms, while in classical usage 貸 could also carry broader moral or metaphorical senses — granting favor, allowing reprieve, or showing leniency.

「天貸其年。」

“Heaven lends (extends) his years” — a metaphor for grace or extended life.

In early Chinese civilization, 貝 characters signified economic exchange.

貸, appearing in bronze inscriptions and early texts, reflected the rise of credit-based transactions — lending goods or money under agreed terms.

In the Zhou dynasty, formalized lending practices were codified in administrative records.

The word 貸 appeared in compound expressions describing state loans, charitable relief lending (賑貸), and usury laws.

「官有常貸，以濟貧民。」 (Zhouli, 周禮)

“The state maintains regular loans to assist the poor.”

This moralized the concept of lending — transforming it from private interest to public benevolence.

Cultural and symbolic meaning:

In classical philosophy, 貸 is connected with 仁 (benevolence) and 信 (trust).

To lend implies faith in another’s integrity and reflects the moral economy of reciprocity fundamental to Confucian ethics.

The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸) warns against both 過 (excess) and 不及 (deficiency) — a balance mirrored in fair lending practices.

Excessive lending at interest (usury) was condemned as 不仁 (inhumane), while 賑貸 (benevolent lending) embodied humaneness in governance.

「貸而不責，仁也。」

“To lend and not demand repayment — that is benevolence.”

貸 is the counterpart to 借 (차):

借 — to borrow, to take temporarily.

貸 — to lend, to give temporarily.

This complementary relationship represents two sides of the same economic and social act — exchange based on trust and obligation (信義).

Opposite to 借 (borrow), it expresses the active, giving side of trust-based exchange.

From economic lending to moral and spiritual grace, 貸 embodies the Confucian principle of reciprocal virtue — the faith that what is given in sincerity will one day return in kind.

債 (채) — debt; from 貝 + 責, “owed valuables.”

貸出 / 借入 — paired opposites, “lending and borrowing.”

代 (대) — to substitute, from which 貸 borrows phonetic form and idea of interchange.

These form part of a semantic field of exchange and reciprocity, central to the classical Chinese concept of li (禮, ritual and social order).