贷款 (dàikuǎn)

贷款 refers to a loan from a bank or financial institution, and is central vocabulary for discussions of personal finance, housing, business operations, and economic policy in China.

Meanings

[noun] loan; credit (from a bank)
[verb] to take out a loan; to lend money (from a bank's perspective)

Example Sentences

他向银行申请了一笔住房贷款。 Tā xiàng yínháng shēnqǐng le yī bǐ zhùfáng dàikuǎn. He applied to the bank for a housing loan.

贷款利率的高低直接影响借款人的还款压力。 Dàikuǎn lìlǜ de gāodī zhíjiē yǐngxiǎng jiè kuǎn rén de huánkuǎn yālì. The level of loan interest rates directly affects borrowers' repayment pressure.

政府为小微企业提供了低息贷款支持。 Zhèngfǔ wèi xiǎo wēi qǐyè tígōng le dīxī dàikuǎn zhīchí. The government provided low-interest loan support for small and micro enterprises.

他每月需要偿还贷款三千元。 Tā měi yuè xūyào chánghuán dàikuǎn sān qiān yuán. He needs to repay 3,000 yuan in loan repayments every month.

由于信用记录不佳，他的贷款申请被拒绝了。 Yóuyú xìnyòng jìlù bù jiā, tā de dàikuǎn shēnqǐng bèi jùjué le. Due to a poor credit record, his loan application was rejected.

学生可以申请助学贷款，减轻家庭负担。 Xuéshēng kěyǐ shēnqǐng zhùxué dàikuǎn, jiǎnqīng jiātíng fùdān. Students can apply for student loans to reduce the family's financial burden.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
申请贷款 (shēnqǐng dàikuǎn)	to apply for a loan
住房贷款 (zhùfáng dàikuǎn)	housing loan / mortgage
贷款利率 (dàikuǎn lìlǜ)	loan interest rate
还贷款 (huán dàikuǎn)	to repay a loan
助学贷款 (zhùxué dàikuǎn)	student loan

Usage Notes

贷款 is the standard term for loans from financial institutions. As a noun it refers to the loan itself (申请一笔贷款, to apply for a loan). As a verb it means to lend or to take a loan: 银行贷款给企业 (the bank lends to enterprises) or 向银行贷款 (to take a loan from a bank).

Distinguish 贷款 (bank/institutional loan) from 借款 (jiè kuǎn, to borrow/lend money informally between individuals). 贷款 always implies a formal financial institution.

Memory Hook

贷 (to lend/credit) + 款 (funds/money): funds provided on credit -- a loan.