垫付

墊付

diànfù

verb #93,512

Meanings

1 to advance money (to be reimbursed later)
2 to front a payment
3 to pay on behalf of someone

Characters

to advance; to cushion

Examples

出差的费用先由员工垫付，回来报销。

Chūchāi de fèiyòng xiān yóu yuángōng diànfù, huílái bàoxiāo.

Business trip expenses are first advanced by the employee and reimbursed on return.

我先帮你垫付医药费吧。

Wǒ xiān bāng nǐ diànfù yīyàofèi ba.

Let me cover your medical fees for now.

Tips

usage

垫付 always implies reimbursement is expected — it's a loan, not a gift. For a genuine handout use 代付 (pay on behalf of) or 请客 (treat). Common in expense-reimbursement contexts.

Stroke Order

垫 diàn

付 fù