債務

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 債務 is a noun read さいむ, meaning a debt or obligation that must be repaid or performed under a transaction or agreement.
• Basic usage: It can refer to debt repaid gradually or the scope of an obligation checked before entering into a contract.
  • 店主は債務を少しずつ返済した。 says that the shop owner repaid the debt little by little; 契約前に債務の範囲を確認する必要がある。 says that the scope of the obligation needs to be confirmed before entering into the contract.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 債務を返済する
  • を marks the debt as what was repaid gradually.
• 債務の範囲
  • の links the scope being checked to the obligations under the contract.
• 債務 and 債権
  • 債務 is the duty to repay or perform, while 債権 is the corresponding right to demand performance.