Meaning of 费
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to cost
- to spend
- fee
- wasteful
- expenses
- surname Fei
How to use 费
As a noun, 费 usually appears at the end of words for specific charges, like 学费 (xuéfèi) tuition or 电费 (diànfèi) electricity bill. As a verb, it means to use up something like time or effort. Example: 这件事很费时间。(Zhè jiàn shì hěn fèi shíjiān.) This takes a lot of time.
The bottom of 费 (fèi) is 贝 (bèi), an old symbol for shells used as money. Picture money draining away under the top part, and you have spending, costs, and fees.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 费 (fèi) with 贵 (guì, expensive), since both have 贝 at the bottom and relate to money. 费 is the cost or the act of spending, while 贵 describes something as pricey.
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.
费 fèi · to cost · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 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 |
| 免费 | miǎnfèi | free (of charge) |
| 经费 | jīngfèi | funds; expenditure |
| 消费者 | xiāofèizhě | consumer |
| 花费 | huāfèi | expense; cost |
| 小费 | xiǎofèi | tip; gratuity |
| 生活费 | shēnghuófèi | cost of living; living expenses |
Questions about 费
What does 费 mean?
费 (fèi) means "to cost; to spend" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 费?
费 is made of 1 character: 费 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 费 an HSK word?
Yes. 费 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 费 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 费 is written 費.
What is the difference between 费 and 花 when talking about spending?
花 (huā) is the everyday verb for spending money or time, as in 花钱 (huā qián). 费 as a verb suggests using up more than you would like, as in 费力 (fèilì), to take great effort.
How do you say something is free of charge using 费?
Use 免费 (miǎnfèi), which literally means exempt from fees. For example, 门票免费 (ménpiào miǎnfèi) means admission is free.