chìzì: 赤字 - Deficit, (in the) Red

• Keywords: chìzì, 赤字, Chinese for deficit, red ink, budget deficit, trade deficit, running a deficit in Chinese, what does chizi mean, 赤字是什么意思, financial Chinese, HSK 6 vocabulary.
• Summary: Learn the essential Chinese financial term 赤字 (chìzì), which directly translates to “deficit” or “in the red.” Literally meaning “red characters,” this term is used to describe situations where expenses exceed income, from a government's budget deficit to a company's annual loss. This page breaks down the characters, explores its cultural context, and provides numerous practical examples to help you master its usage in formal and economic discussions.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): chìzì
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: HSK 6
• Concise Definition: A financial deficit, where spending is greater than income.
• In a Nutshell: 赤字 (chìzì) is the direct equivalent of the English financial term “deficit.” The concept comes from the accounting practice of recording losses or debts in red ink. When a government, company, or even an individual has more expenses than income over a period, they are running a 赤字. It's a fundamental term in economics and finance.

• 赤 (chì): This character means “red” or “scarlet.” It's a different word for red than the more common 红 (hóng). While 红 often implies luck and happiness, 赤 can have a more neutral or even negative connotation, as seen in words like 赤脚 (chìjiǎo - “barefoot”) or 赤贫 (chìpín - “utterly poor”). In this context, it specifically refers to the red ink used in accounting.
• 字 (zì): This character simply means “word,” “character,” or “symbol.”
• Combined Meaning: The two characters combine literally to mean “red characters” or “red figures.” This paints a clear and direct picture of an accountant's ledger where the negative numbers—the losses—are written in red. This is a case where the Chinese term's origin is perfectly aligned with international accounting practices.

The use of red in 赤字 (chìzì) is a fascinating exception to a major Chinese cultural rule. In most contexts, red—specifically 红 (hóng)—is the color of luck, joy, prosperity, and celebration. It's the color of wedding dresses, festival decorations, and the lucky envelopes (红包, hóngbāo) given during Chinese New Year. However, the 赤 (chì) in 赤字 (chìzì) does not carry this positive symbolism. Its meaning is imported directly from Western accounting conventions, where “being in the red” signifies debt or loss. This is a point of cultural convergence rather than a native Chinese concept. A learner's key takeaway should be to separate the financial context from the general cultural one.

• 红 (hóng): Good fortune, happiness, celebrations (e.g., weddings, New Year).
• 赤 (chì) in 赤字: Financial loss, deficit, debt (a purely economic context).

Therefore, while a business might hope for a “red-hot” or prosperous start (开门红, kāiménhóng), it absolutely wants to avoid having a 赤字 (chìzì) on its balance sheet.

赤字 (chìzì) is primarily used in formal, written, and economic contexts. You will encounter it frequently in the news, financial reports, and academic discussions.

• Government and Economics: This is the most common usage. News reports and government officials constantly discuss the national 财政赤字 (cáizhèng chìzì) (fiscal/budget deficit) or the 贸易赤字 (màoyì chìzì) (trade deficit). It is a standard, formal term.
• Corporate Finance: Companies use 赤字 in their annual reports or financial statements to indicate a loss for a given period. An alternative and more common term in a business context is 亏损 (kuīsǔn).
• Personal Finance: While grammatically correct, it's less common to use 赤字 for personal finances in casual conversation. It sounds overly formal or academic. A person is more likely to say 我这个月钱不够用 (wǒ zhège yuè qián bùgòu yòng - “I don't have enough money this month”) or 我没钱了 (wǒ méi qián le - “I'm broke”). However, one might use 赤字 humorously or in a slightly more formal self-assessment, like writing in a journal: “My personal budget is in the red again.”

• Example 1:
  • 政府正在努力减少财政赤字。
  • Pinyin: Zhèngfǔ zhèngzài nǔlì jiǎnshǎo cáizhèng chìzì.
  • English: The government is working hard to reduce the fiscal deficit.
  • Analysis: This is a classic, formal example you would read in a newspaper article about national economics. 财政 (cáizhèng) specifies it's a “fiscal” or “budget” deficit.
• Example 2:
  • 今年，我们公司的账面上出现了赤字。
  • Pinyin: Jīnnián, wǒmen gōngsī de zhàngmiàn shàng chūxiàn le chìzì.
  • English: This year, a deficit appeared on our company's books.
  • Analysis: 账面上 (zhàngmiàn shàng) means “on the books” or “in the accounts,” a common collocation with 赤字 in a business context.
• Example 3:
  • 长期以来，该国一直存在巨大的贸易赤字。
  • Pinyin: Chángqī yǐlái, gāi guó yīzhí cúnzài jùdà de màoyì chìzì.
  • English: For a long time, that country has had a huge trade deficit.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the use of 贸易 (màoyì) for “trade” to specify the type of deficit.
• Example 4:
  • 我们必须想办法弥补这个赤字。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen bìxū xiǎng bànfǎ míbǔ zhège chìzì.
  • English: We must find a way to make up for this deficit.
  • Analysis: 弥补 (míbǔ) is a key verb used with 赤字, meaning “to make up for,” “to cover,” or “to remedy.”
• Example 5:
  • 由于意外开支，我的个人预算出现了赤字。
  • Pinyin: Yóuyú yìwài kāizhī, wǒ de gèrén yùsuàn chūxiàn le chìzì.
  • English: Due to unexpected expenses, my personal budget has a deficit.
  • Analysis: This is a more formal or reflective way to talk about personal finances. 个人预算 (gèrén yùsuàn) means “personal budget.”
• Example 6:
  • 持续的赤字可能会导致严重的经济问题。
  • Pinyin: Chíxù de chìzì kěnéng huì dǎozhì yánzhòng de jīngjì wèntí.
  • English: A continuous deficit could lead to serious economic problems.
  • Analysis: This sentence treats 赤字 as the subject, showing its role as a key economic indicator.
• Example 7:
  • 他们的家庭收支上个月是赤字状态。
  • Pinyin: Tāmen de jiātíng shōuzhī shàng gè yuè shì chìzì zhuàngtài.
  • English: Their family's income and expenses were in a state of deficit last month.
  • Analysis: The phrase 赤字状态 (chìzì zhuàngtài) means “a state of deficit.” 收支 (shōuzhī) means “income and expenditure.”
• Example 8:
  • 经济学家对不断增长的赤字表示担忧。
  • Pinyin: Jīngjì xuéjiā duì bùduàn zēngzhǎng de chìzì biǎoshì dānyōu.
  • English: Economists expressed concern about the growing deficit.
  • Analysis: This shows how 赤字 is a topic of concern for professionals like economists (经济学家).
• Example 9:
  • 增加税收是减少赤字的方法之一。
  • Pinyin: Zēngjiā shuìshōu shì jiǎnshǎo chìzì de fāngfǎ zhī yī.
  • English: Increasing taxes is one method of reducing the deficit.
  • Analysis: A sentence structure common in discussions about economic policy.
• Example 10:
  • 如果支出超过收入，你就会有赤字。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ zhīchū chāoguò shōurù, nǐ jiù huì yǒu chìzì.
  • English: If expenses exceed income, you will have a deficit.
  • Analysis: This is a simple, definitional sentence perfect for a learner to understand the core concept.

• Don't Confuse with 红 (hóng): The biggest mistake is to think that because red (红) is lucky, 赤字 must be good. It is not. You cannot say *红字 (hóngzì)* to mean a financial deficit. Stick to 赤字 (chìzì) for this specific economic meaning.
• Formality Level: Be mindful that 赤字 is a formal term. Using it in a very casual chat about being out of money can sound a bit stilted or overly dramatic. For “I'm broke,” stick to simple phrases like 我没钱了 (wǒ méi qián le).
• False Friend Alert (Deficit): The English word “deficit” and the Chinese 赤字 (chìzì) are nearly perfect equivalents in the financial sense. However, English sometimes uses “deficit” more broadly for non-financial shortages (e.g., “an attention deficit,” “a moral deficit”). The Chinese term 赤字 is almost exclusively used for financial, budgetary, or trade contexts. For other types of shortages, you would use different words like 缺乏 (quēfá - to lack) or 不足 (bùzú - insufficient).
  • Incorrect: 他有注意力的赤字。 (Tā yǒu zhùyìlì de chìzì.) → This is Chinglish.
  • Correct: 他注意力不集中。 (Tā zhùyìlì bù jízhōng.) - “His attention isn't focused.”

• 盈余 (yíngyú) - Surplus, profit. This is the direct antonym of 赤字. If income is greater than expenses, you have a 盈余.
• 亏损 (kuīsǔn) - Loss, deficit. A very close synonym, often used in a business context to describe a company losing money.
• 财政赤字 (cáizhèng chìzì) - Fiscal deficit, budget deficit. A more specific term for a government's deficit.
• 贸易赤字 (màoyì chìzì) - Trade deficit. A specific term for when a country's imports exceed its exports.
• 预算 (yùsuàn) - Budget. The plan of income and expenditure that can result in either a 赤字 or a 盈余.
• 收支 (shōuzhī) - Income and expenses. The two components that determine the balance. A common phrase is 收支平衡 (shōuzhī pínghéng), meaning “to break even.”
• 入不敷出 (rù bù fū chū) - A chengyu (idiom) that means “income does not cover expenditure.” It's a descriptive way of saying there is a deficit.
• 负债 (fùzhài) - Debt, liabilities. A deficit (赤字) is a measure of flow over a period (e.g., a loss of $10,000 this year), while debt (负债) is a measure of stock at a point in time (e.g., total debt of $100,000). Persistent deficits lead to growing debt.