Among so many Chinese words, some similar groups are easy to distinguish from the meaning or application while some are difficult to tell apart. When foreign learners meet this difficulty, the teachers in Chinese learning programs may suggested them study by making more typical sentences. For example, 培养and培育is a typical group. Usually, the former one means to educate and train in long term in accordance with certain purpose. Accordingly, we can say 培养人才and培养学生爱国主义思想.

However, 培育has two levels of meanings, first of which is to feed the small living creatures to make them grow up like 培育良种and培育幼苗. Besides, it also carries the meaning of educating to make certain emotion developed such as 培育人才and培育觉悟. There are two completed sentences of each word to illustrate. 我要努力学习，以最优异的成绩感谢祖国对我们的培养and小王通过自学掌握了培育玉米良种的技术.

Another group of words the foreign students who learn Chinese online need to master are 补偿and赔偿. 赔偿 is a verb meaning to make reparations or compensation to the victims like 按原价赔偿. When people use this word, it usually the speaker’s action causes the loss and harm to the other side. The objects are usually money or property. For instance, 这个杯子是我打破的，应该由我赔偿. The sentence you often hear may be 保险公司赔偿了他的损失.

However, when using the word 补偿, we usually mean that there are some losses in certain aspect and need to obtain in another aspect like 赔偿损失. Students in free Chinese lessons should know it means to gain something to offset the loss in another aspect. Except for the money and property, it can be the thing that has the same value of lost thing. For example, 他的辛劳终于得到了很好的补偿.