成本 meaning in English

chéngběn

(manufacturing, production etc) costs

HSK 5noun11 strokes

Meaning of 成本

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

chéngběn

(manufacturing, production etc) costs

How to use 成本

成本 refers to the cost of making or providing something, common in business, factory and economics talk. It often pairs with words like 降低 (jiàngdī, lower) or 高 (gāo, high). Example: 这个产品的成本很高。(Zhège chǎnpǐn de chéngběn hěn gāo.) The cost of this product is very high.

成 (chéng) means to become or complete, and 本 (běn) means root or origin. 成本 is the root amount you must spend before a product can be completed.

Common mistake: Learners often use 成本 for the price a shopper pays, but that is 价格 (jiàgé) or 价钱 (jiàqián). 成本 is what it costs the producer, not the customer.

成本 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè是shì一yī部bù低dī成chéng本běn的de电diàn影yǐng。

This is a low-budget movie.

明míng年nián预yù算suàn的de计jì算suàn是shì基jī于yú今jīn年nián的de成chéng本běn的de。

The calculation of the budget for next year is based on the costs this year.

怎zěn么me降jiàng低dī成chéng本běn呢ne？

How do you keep costs down?

他tā们men正zhèng努nǔ力lì降jiàng低dī成chéng本běn。

They're trying to keep costs down.

公gōng司sī为wèi了le削xuē减jiǎn成chéng本běn，拒jù绝jué让ràng员yuán工gōng自zì行xíng加jiā班bān。

In order to cut down on costs, the company refuses to allow employees to work overtime.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

成 chéng · to succeed · 6 strokes

本 běn · root · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 成本.

本子	běnzi	book; notebook
课本	kèběn	textbook
成为	chéngwéi	to become; to turn into
变成	biànchéng	to change into; to turn into
完成	wánchéng	to complete; to accomplish
成绩	chéngjì	achievement; performance records
组成	zǔchéng	to form; to make up
笔记本	bǐjìběn	notebook (stationery) (CL:本[ben3]); (computing) laptop; notebook (abbr. for 筆記本電腦\|笔记本电脑[bi
根本	gēnběn	fundamental; basic
成功	chénggōng	to succeed; success
本来	běnlái	original; originally
造成	zàochéng	to bring about; to create; to cause

Questions about 成本

What does 成本 mean?

成本 (chéngběn) means "(manufacturing, production etc) costs" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 成本?

成本 is made of 2 characters: 成 (6 strokes), 本 (5 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 成本 an HSK word?

Yes. 成本 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 成本 and 费用?

成本 is the cost of producing goods or services. 费用 (fèiyòng) is a broader word for fees or expenses, such as 学习费用 (xuéxí fèiyòng), study expenses.

How do you say to reduce costs in Chinese?

The most common phrase is 降低成本 (jiàngdī chéngběn). You may also hear 控制成本 (kòngzhì chéngběn), to control costs.