买单

買單
mǎidān
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to pay the bill (at a restaurant)
  2. 2 to foot the bill
  3. 3 to take the blame / take responsibility (figurative)

Examples

Fúwùyuán, mǎidān!
Waiter, the check please!
Zhè cì fànjú wǒ lái mǎidān.
I'll pick up the tab for this meal.
Zuìhòu háishì lǎobǎixìng wèi cuòwù juécè mǎidān.
In the end it's still ordinary people who pay the price for bad decisions.

Tips

culture
Originally Cantonese (màaih dāan, 'settle the bill') — the Mandarin 买单 is a phonetic reborrowing that became universal after the 1990s reform era. The figurative '... 买单' ('pay for someone's mistake') is now just as common as the literal sense.

Stroke Order

mǎi
dān