賠償金

• Reading: ばいしょうきん
• Romaji: baishōkin
• Kanji breakdown: 賠 (bai) — indemnify, compensate; 償 (shō) — repay, atone; 金 (kin) — money
• Pronunciation: /baiɕoːkiɴ/

Meaning

Compensation; indemnity; money paid to make good damages, losses, or injuries caused by a wrongful act.

A noun in legal and diplomatic contexts. 賠償金 refers to monetary payment demanded of the responsible party — whether in civil litigation (損害賠償金), international disputes, or war reparations (戦争賠償金). It carries the implication of financial accountability for wrongdoing. Distinguished from 慰謝料 (solatium for emotional suffering) by its broader scope and often larger scale.

Examples

1. 原告側は企業に対し、数千万円に上る賠償金の支払いを求めて地裁に提訴した。 The plaintiffs filed suit in the district court seeking payment of tens of millions of yen in compensation from the company.
2. 戦後の賠償金をめぐる外交交渉は、二国間関係を長年にわたって複雑にし続けた。 Diplomatic negotiations over post-war reparations continued to complicate relations between the two countries for many years.
3. 裁判所は被告に対し、全治二か月の傷害に相応する賠償金の支払いを命じる判決を下した。 The court handed down a ruling ordering the defendant to pay compensation commensurate with injuries requiring two months of recovery.

Usage Guide

Context: law, litigation, diplomacy, insurance

Tone: formal

Origin & History

From 賠 (to indemnify, compensate), 償 (to repay, atone), and 金 (money). Both 賠 and 償 carry the sense of making good on a loss; 賠 includes the shell/money radical 貝, indicating financial restitution as its core meaning.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Legal/Business