交 jiāo — to deliver; to turn over; to make friends; to intersect (lines); to pay (money)
请按时交作业。Qǐng àn shí jiāo zuò yè.Please hand in your homework on time.
Common words: 交给 (jiāo gěi)、交通 (jiāo tōng)、交朋友 (jiāo péng you)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to pay"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to pay", including 交 (jiāo), 纳 (nà). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to pay" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 交 (jiāo), 纳 (nà) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span jiāo, nà — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 交 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 交 jiāoto deliver; to turn over; to make friends; to intersect (lines); to pay (money)Useful words: 交给, 交通
- 纳 nàto accept; to pay (tax etc.)Useful words: 容纳, 采纳
Common words for these 2 "to pay" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 交 (jiāo) — so "to pay" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
交给jiāo gěito give; to deliver; to hand over交通jiāo tōngto be connected; traffic; transportation; communications交朋友jiāo péng youto make friends; (dialect) to start an affair with sb容纳róng nàto hold; to contain; to accommodate; to tolerate (different opinions)采纳cǎi nàto accept; to adopt缴纳jiǎo nàto pay (taxes etc)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to pay".
纳 nà — to accept; to pay (tax etc.)
每个公民都要按时纳税。Měi ge gōng mín dōu yào àn shí nà shuì.Every citizen must pay taxes on time.
Common words: 容纳 (róng nà)、采纳 (cǎi nà)、缴纳 (jiǎo nà)
All 2 characters
Open 交、纳 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.