报 本 反 始

bào běn fǎn shǐdictionary entry

ensure that you pay debts of gratitude (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-77054e5ab405301b. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

報本反始报本反始 [bao4 ben3 fan3 shi3] /ensure that you pay debts of gratitude (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 報本反始

报
bào
to report / to inform / to announce / to respond / to reply / to sign up for / to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bào míng]) / to reward / to recompense / to take revenge / to retaliate / newspaper / periodical / journal / bulletin / telegram
本
běn
(bound form) root / stem / (bound form) origin / source / (bound form) one's own / this / (bound form) this / the current (year etc) / (bound form) original / (bound form) inherent / originally / initially / capital / principal / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc
反
fǎn
contrary / in reverse / inside out or upside down / to reverse / to return / to oppose / opposite / against / anti- / to rebel / to use analogy / instead / abbr. for 反切[fǎn qiè] phonetic system
始
shǐ
to begin / to start / then / only then

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.