费 (fèi) - Fee, expense, cost & to spend, to consume

费Tone 4

fèi ｜ 9 strokes ｜ radical:

恩丰

费 · fèi

Fee, expense, cost;

to spend, to consume;

also a surname.

Fee, expense, costto spend, to consumealso a surname.

Usage highlights

Tuition feeLiving expensesMedical expensesWaste of timeConsume effortFee

Synonyms

  • 花— to spend (money, time)
  • 耗— to consume, use up

Antonyms

  • 省— to save, economize
  • 免— free, exempt

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The tuition fee is expensive (学费很贵).
  • Don't waste time (不要浪费时间).
  • This project requires a lot of effort (这个项目很费劲).
  • His surname is Fei (他姓费).

Collocations

  • Tuition fee(学费)
  • Living expenses(生活费)
  • Medical expenses(医药费)
  • Waste of time(浪费时间)
  • Consume effort(费劲)
  • Fee-based service(收费服务)

Idioms

  • Waste both time and money(费时费力)
  • Waste words and effort(费口舌)
  • Extremely troublesome(费尽周折)
  • Spare no effort(不费吹灰之力)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • As a surname, Fei has historical roots and is one of the Chinese family names.
  • In traditional culture, frugality is valued, so 'waste' (费) is often discouraged.
  • The character appears in economic contexts relating to costs and expenditures.

FAQ