Meaning of 代价
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- price
- cost
- consideration (in share dealing)
How to use 代价
代价 is usually about a cost in effort, health, time or sacrifice, not the price tag in a shop. It often appears in the patterns 付出代价 (pay a price) and 以……为代价 (at the cost of). Example: 他为成功付出了很大的代价。(Tā wèi chénggōng fùchūle hěn dà de dàijià.) He paid a high price for his success.
代 (dài) means to replace or stand in for, and 价 (jià) means price. A 代价 is the price you pay in place of something, what you give up to get what you want.
Common mistake: Learners often use 代价 for the price of goods, as in 这件衣服的代价. For shop prices use 价格 (jiàgé) or 价钱 (jiàqián) instead. Also keep 代 (dài) distinct from 伐 (fá), which looks similar but has a different right side.
代价 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
代 dài · to be a substitute for · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
价 jià · price · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 代价.
| 代表 | dàibiǎo | representative; delegate |
| 价值 | jiàzhí | value; worth; (ethical, cultural etc) values |
| 时代 | shídài | age; era |
| 年代 | niándài | a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties); age |
| 价格 | jiàgé | price |
| 价钱 | jiàqián | price |
| 现代 | xiàndài | modern times; modern age |
| 评价 | píngjià | to evaluate; to assess |
| 古代 | gǔdài | ancient times |
| 现代化 | xiàndàihuà | modernization |
| 代表团 | dàibiǎotuán | delegation |
| 票价 | piàojià | ticket price; fare; admission fee |
Questions about 代价
What does 代价 mean?
代价 (dàijià) means "price; cost" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 代价?
代价 is made of 2 characters: 代 (5 strokes), 价 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 代价 an HSK word?
Yes. 代价 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 代价 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 代价 is written 代價.
What does 不惜一切代价 mean?
It means at all costs or whatever it takes. Example: 我们要不惜一切代价救他。(Wǒmen yào bùxī yíqiè dàijià jiù tā.) We must save him at all costs.
Is 代价 always negative?
It usually suggests a sacrifice or loss, so it has a heavy tone. It is neutral only in technical uses such as finance, where it can mean consideration paid in a deal.