owe a favor; be in someone's debt
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
owe a favor; feel indebted to someone
neutralExpresses a feeling of social or moral debt. Often used in interpersonal relationships. Can be used alone or followed by an object (e.g., 欠他的情).
Rén人
jia家
rè热
qíng情
jiē接
dài待
，
wǒ我
hái还
méi没
yǒu有
dào道
xiè谢
，
jué觉
de得
yǒu有
diǎn点
qiàn欠
qíng情
。
They received me warmly, and I haven't thanked them yet. I feel a bit indebted.
Zán咱
liǎ俩
shuí谁
yě也
bù不
qiàn欠
shuí谁
de的
qíng情
，
suǒ所
yǐ以
bāng帮
máng忙
shì是
yīng应
gāi该
de的
。
Neither of us owes the other a favor, so helping is what we should do.
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Zhè这
cì次
nǐ你
bāng帮
wǒ我
zhè这
me么
dà大
máng忙
，
wǒ我
kě可
qiàn欠
le了
nǐ你
yī一
gè个
dà大
rén人
qíng情
。
This time you helped me so much; I owe you a big favor.
Tā他
yī一
zhí直
duì对
wǒ我
hěn很
hǎo好
，
wǒ我
zǒng总
jué觉
de得
qiàn欠
tā他
de的
qíng情
。
He has always been good to me; I always feel I owe him a debt of gratitude.