Meaning of 免费
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- free (of charge)
How to use 免费
免费 describes things that cost no money, such as food, tickets, Wi-Fi, or services. It works as an adjective before a noun or as an adverb before a verb. Example: 这里的咖啡是免费的。(Zhèlǐ de kāfēi shì miǎnfèi de.) The coffee here is free.
免 (miǎn) means to be exempt or excused from something, and 费 (fèi) means fee or cost. Put them together: you are excused from the fee, so it is free of charge.
Common mistake: Learners often use 免费 for the other meaning of English "free", as in free time or freedom. Free time is 有空 (yǒu kòng) or 空闲 (kòngxián), and freedom is 自由 (zìyóu).
免费 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.
免 miǎn · to excuse sb · 7 strokes
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费 fèi · to cost · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 免费.
| 浪费 | làngfèi | to waste; to squander |
| 费用 | fèiyong | cost; expenditure |
| 学费 | xuéfèi | tuition fee; tuition |
| 收费 | shōufèi | to charge a fee |
| 消费 | xiāofèi | to consume (goods and services, resources etc) |
| 交费 | jiāofèi | to pay a fee |
| 避免 | bìmiǎn | to avert; to prevent |
| 难免 | nánmiǎn | hard to avoid; difficult to escape from |
| 经费 | jīngfèi | funds; expenditure |
| 消费者 | xiāofèizhě | consumer |
| 不免 | bùmiǎn | inevitably |
| 免得 | miǎnde | so as not to; so as to avoid |
Questions about 免费
What does 免费 mean?
免费 (miǎnfèi) means "free (of charge)".
How do you write 免费?
免费 is made of 2 characters: 免 (7 strokes), 费 (9 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 免费 an HSK word?
Yes. 免费 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 免费 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 免费 is written 免費.
What is the opposite of 免费?
The usual opposite is 收费 (shōufèi), to charge a fee. Signs often say 免费 or 收费 to show whether you need to pay.
Can 免费 be used directly before a verb?
Yes. You can say 免费参观 (miǎnfèi cānguān), to visit for free, or 免费送 (miǎnfèi sòng), to give away for free.