Meaning
債 means debt, financial obligation, and bond. It covers money owed — by an individual, a company, or a government — and the legal instruments that formally represent that obligation. In practice, 債 stays in formal territory: financial newspapers, business contracts, government announcements, economic textbooks. Work in finance, law, or public administration in Japan, and you'll see it daily.
The character splits into two parts. On the left is 亻 (person radical), a compressed form of 人. On the right sits 責, meaning responsibility or blame — familiar from 責任 (responsibility). Together they depict a person bearing a burden of financial duty. That burden is 債: the obligation to repay, or the right to collect.
With 13 strokes, 債 belongs to the Jōyō kanji set at the secondary/adult level — no elementary grade assigned. In traditional Chinese, the character is written identically and shares the same meaning of debt and obligation, making it recognizable across East Asian writing traditions.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
One reading only: サイ (SAI). It appears in every compound where 債 shows up — banking terms, legal documents, government finance reports, economic journalism. 債 never stands alone; it always pairs with other kanji to form compound words.
Key compounds using サイ:
- 債務 (saimu) — debt, liability; a financial obligation owed by one party to another
- 債権 (saiken) — credit; the legal right to demand repayment from a debtor
- 債券 (saiken) — bond, debenture; a tradable instrument representing debt (⚠ 債権 and 債券 share the same reading さいけん — context and kanji distinguish them)
- 負債 (fusai) — liabilities, as recorded on a balance sheet
- 国債 (kokusai) — government bond; a debt security issued by the state
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
債 has no kun'yomi. It entered Japanese through classical Chinese legal and economic writing and kept only its Sino-Japanese sound. This is typical of kanji tied to abstract formal concepts — law, finance, administration. There is no native Japanese pronunciation to learn here. Focus on the on'yomi サイ and the compound words on this page.
Common Words & Compounds
債 generates a dense cluster of financial and legal vocabulary. The most important compounds are grouped below by theme.
Financial Instruments (金融商品):
- 国債 (kokusai) — government bond; issued by the national government to fund public spending
- 社債 (shasai) — corporate bond; issued by a private company to raise capital from investors
- 債券 (saiken) — bond, debenture; the generic term for any tradable debt instrument with fixed repayment terms
- 公債 (kōsai) — public debt; bonds issued by government entities, national or municipal
- 起債 (kisai) — bond issuance; the act of floating a bond to raise funds
Debt and Liability (負債・債務):
- 債務 (saimu) — debt, liability; the legal obligation to repay a sum or fulfill a financial duty
- 負債 (fusai) — liabilities; debts shown on the right side of a corporate balance sheet
- 債務者 (saimusha) — debtor; the party who owes money or carries a financial obligation
- 債務不履行 (saimu furikō) — default; failure to meet repayment obligations on schedule
- 不良債権 (furyō saiken) — non-performing loan; a debt unlikely to be repaid, also called a bad loan
Credit and Legal Rights (債権・法律):
- 債権 (saiken) — credit, claim; the legal right of a creditor to demand repayment from a debtor
- 債権者 (saikensha) — creditor; the party to whom money is owed
- 債権回収 (saiken kaishū) — debt collection; recovering owed money through legal or administrative means
Example Sentences
彼は多額の負債を抱えている。
Kare wa tagaku no fusai wo kakaete iru.
He is carrying a large amount of debt.
政府は新しい国債を発行した。
Seifu wa atarashii kokusai wo hakkō shita.
The government issued new government bonds.
債務者は期限までに返済しなければならない。
Saimusha wa kigen made ni hensai shinakereba naranai.
The debtor must repay the loan by the deadline.
銀行は不良債権の処理に苦労している。
Ginkō wa furyō saiken no shori ni kurō shite iru.
The bank is struggling to deal with its non-performing loans.
債券の価格は金利が上がると下がる。
Saiken no kakaku wa kinri ga agaru to sagaru.
Bond prices fall when interest rates rise.
彼女の会社は社債を発行して資金を調達した。
Kanojo no kaisha wa shasai wo hakkō shite shikin wo chōtatsu shita.
Her company raised funds by issuing corporate bonds.
債権者は法的手段を取ることにした。
Saikensha wa hōteki shudan wo toru koto ni shita.
The creditor decided to take legal action.
日本の国債の残高はGDPの約250%に達している。
Nihon no kokusai no zandaka wa GDP no yaku 250% ni tasshite iru.
Japan's outstanding government bond balance has reached approximately 250% of GDP.
債務不履行になれば、企業の信用が大きく傷つく。
Saimu furikō ni nareba, kigyō no shin'yō ga ōkiku kizutsuku.
If a default occurs, the company's credit rating will be severely damaged.
Memory Tip
Split 債 into its two halves: 亻 (person) on the left and 責 (responsibility, blame) on the right. Picture someone slumped under the weight of a financial burden — that's debt. You already know 責 from 責任 (responsibility), so think of 債 as that same duty, now attached to a person (亻) who must pay up.
For the reading, link サイ to the English word "sigh" — the sound you make every month when the payment clears. Once that image sticks, サイ is easy to recall.