費Tone 4

fèi ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

費 · fèi

Fee;

expense;

cost;

to spend;

to consume;

to waste;

also a surname.

Feeexpensecost

Usage highlights

Tuition feeSpend moneyWaste effortCost timeFree of chargeConsume electricity

Synonyms

花— to spend (money, time)
耗— to consume, to use up
用— to use (can imply consumption)

Antonyms

省— to save, to economize
免— to exempt, to avoid
节— to economize, to save

Usage & contexts

Examples

The tuition fee is expensive (学费很贵).
Don't waste time (不要浪费时间).
He spent a lot of effort on this project (他费了很多心血).
This is a free service (这是免费服务).

Collocations

Tuition fee(学费)
Spend money(费钱)
Waste effort(费劲)
Cost time(费时)
Free of charge(免费)
Consume electricity(费电)

Idioms

To waste both mental and physical effort(费心费力)
To go to great pains(煞费苦心)
To spare no effort(不费吹灰之力)

Cultural background

As a surname, Fei is one of the Chinese family names with historical origins.
The character conveys a sense of consumption or expenditure, often used in contexts of cost and effort.
In modern usage, it frequently appears in financial and transactional vocabulary.

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