逋

Core sense is flight or escape characterized by evasion of obligation. This includes:

1. Physical flight: To flee or run away, often implying a calculated or evasive departure.

2. Evasion/Absconding: Specifically the avoidance of legal, financial, or social obligations (e.g., evading taxes or tributes), denoting both the act of moving away and the resulting default on duty.

Primarily functions as a verb of motion. In administrative contexts, it can describe the status of an obligation itself—referring to debts or taxes that remain unpaid or overdue because the responsible party has absconded.

When distinguishing between terms for flight or disappearance:

• 逃 (táo): General act of escaping or fleeing, often from a pursuer or immediate threat.
• 亡 (wáng): Total disappearance, loss, or death.
• 逋 (bū): Specifically absconding to avoid a liability or obligation.

In administrative documents, legal codes, or texts concerning state revenue, prioritize "evasion," "default," or "absconding." In narratives of pursuit, "fleeing" is appropriate, though the translator should consider if there is an underlying motive of avoidance.