Chinese word

费

Pronunciation

Pinyinfèi

Meaning

  • nouncost

Example

上个月的电费还没交。shàng gè yuè de diàn fèi hái méi jiāo

The electricity cost for last month has not been paid yet.

Illustration for 费 (cost)

More examples

每月的生活费要好好规划。měi yuè de shēng huó fèi yào háo hǎo guī huà

Monthly living expenses should be planned carefully.

Core concept

A money amount attached to a particular purpose, from using a service to carrying out a plan.

Common phrases

  • 电费diàn fèi

    electricity cost

  • 水费shuǐ fèi

    water bill

  • 话费huà fèi

    phone bill

  • 生活费shēng huó fèi

    living expenses

Similar words

费用fèi yòng: The full amount needed for a particular product, service, or activity.
花费huā fèi: Money spent or paid in getting or doing something.
收费shōu fèi: The payment set by a service or facility for people who use it.
价钱jià qián: The amount shown as the selling price of a product or service.

Definition in Chinese

表示为获得商品、服务或办理事务所需支付的费用金额，常用来指各种具体的收费项目或开支。biǎo shì wèi huò dé shāng pǐn fú wù huò bàn lǐ shì wù suǒ xū zhī fù de fèi yòng jīn é cháng yòng lái zhǐ gè zhǒng jù tǐ de shōu fèi xiàng mù huò kāi zhī

Word origin

费 (fèi, "cost") uses 贝 (bèi, "shell money") as its money-related meaning cue and 弗 (fú, "not") mainly as its sound cue, connecting the character with spending.

Usage tips

  • On a bill, this word can label one payment category rather than the final total, so the surrounding words show whether the text refers to one item or the whole amount.

Other meanings

  • feenoun
  • expensenoun
  • chargenoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word