Translation

借金 / 負債 / 債務

Meaning

Money that you owe to someone else. 'He has $20,000 in debt.' 'She paid off all her debts.' Important pronunciation note: the 'b' in 'debt' is silent — it is pronounced 'det', not 'debt'. This is because Latin scholars reinserted the 'b' to reflect the Latin word 'debitum', even though the spoken form had already lost the 'b'. 'Debt' is also used figuratively: 'I owe you a debt of gratitude' (I am grateful to you).

Examples

• 彼女は大学卒業時に多くの学生ローンの借金を抱えていた。
  She had a lot of student loan debt when she graduated from university.
• 政府債務がGDPの200%を超えた。
  Government debt exceeded 200% of GDP.