费 (fèi): to cost, to spend, fee
费 (fèi) is a Chinese character meaning “to cost.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 弗 (phonetic) and 贝 (semantic). It ranks #486 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 费 money. Its radical form 贝 (shell) appears in many related characters such as 贵 (guì, expensive), 负 (fù, to bear), 责 (zé, responsibility).
Definitions
- to cost
- to spend
- fee
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 费 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 费
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 浪费verb | làng fèi | to waste | 4 |
| 免费verb | miǎn fèi | free (of charge) | 4 |
| 费用noun | fèi yòng | cost | 4 |
| 花费verb | huā fèi | expense | 5 |
| 学费noun | xué fèi | tuition fee | 4 |
| 收费verb | shōu fèi | to charge a fee | 4 |
| 消费verb | xiāo fèi | to consume (goods and services, resources etc) | 5 |
| 消费者noun | xiāo fèi zhě | consumer | 5 |
| 话费noun | huà fèi | call charge | 5 |
| 运费noun | yùn fèi | freight fee | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 费城proper-noun | fèi chéng | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 小费noun | xiǎo fèi | tip |
| 白费verb | bái fèi | to waste (one's energy etc) |
| 付费verb | fù fèi | to pay |
| 费劲verb | fèi jìn | to require effort |
| 经费noun | jīng fèi | funds |
| 费心verb | fèi xīn | to take a lot of trouble (over sb or sth) |
| 赡养费noun | shàn yǎng fèi | alimony |
| 费力verb | fèi lì | to expend a great deal of effort |
| 耗费verb | hào fèi | to waste |
| 车费noun | chē fèi | passenger fare |
| 收费站noun | shōu fèi zhàn | tollbooth |
| 生活费 | shēng huó fèi | cost of living |
| 破费verb | pò fèi | to spend (money or time) |
| 医疗费 | yī liáo fèi | medical expenses |
费 appears in 100 compound words: 22 as the first character, 73 as the last, and 5 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 费 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Showing 5 of 6 idioms containing 费.
Example Sentences
这个费字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě fèi zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "费" had different meanings in classical Chinese.
正论:留港消费情已逝 出境外游按年升
zhèng lùn : liú gǎng xiāo fèi qíng yǐ shì chū jìng wài yóu àn nián shēng
Commentary: Consumption in Hong Kong is gone, and outbound travel is increasing year-on-year
阿里云编程套餐月费最低7.9元
ā lǐ yún biān chéng tào cān yuè fèi zuì dī 7 . 9 yuán
Alibaba Cloud programming package has a minimum monthly fee of 7.9 yuan
黄金消费火热、春节不打烊,电商人一周三飞
huáng jīn xiāo fèi huǒ rè , chūn jié bù dǎ 烊 , diàn shāng rén yī zhōu sān fēi
Gold consumption is hot, the Spring Festival is not closed, and e-commerce people fly three times a week
美国12月实际个人消费支出月率 0.1%,预期0...
měi guó 1 2 yuè shí jì gè rén xiāo fèi zhī chū yuè lǜ 0 . 1 , yù qī 0 . . .
The monthly rate of real personal consumption expenditures in the United States was 0.1%, and the expected 0...
AI+玩具引领消费风潮,成都有店铺多次补货仍供不应..
A I wán jù yǐn lǐng xiāo fèi fēng cháo , chéng dōu yǒu diàn pù duō cì bǔ huò réng gōng bù yīng . .
AI+ toys lead the consumption trend, and Chengdu stores have replenished many times but are still in short supply:
我该在哪儿付煤气费？
Wǒ gāi zài nǎr fù méiqì fèi?
Where do I pay for the gas?
你每个月的瓦斯费多少钱？
Nǐ měi gè yuè de wǎsī fèi duōshao qián?
How much is your monthly gas bill?
汤姆不浪费一点时间，不是么？
Tāngmǔ bù làngfèi yīdiǎn shíjiān, bù shì me?
Tom didn't waste any time, did he?
“酒水免费吗？”“仅女士而已。”
"Jiǔshuǐ miǎnfèi ma?" "Jǐn nǚshì éryǐ."
"Are the drinks free?" "Only for ladies."
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 贝 (money) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 费 (fèi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 费 and 佛?
How many strokes does 费 have?
What is the radical of 费?
What are the components of 费?
What are common words containing 费?
What characters sound the same as 费 (fèi)?
Is 费 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 费 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.