Meaning
to cost; to spend; fee; wasteful; expenses; (surname)
Chinese: 费用、花费或耗费。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “fei” becomes a different word in each tone. 费 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 浪费làng fèito waste; to squander
- 费用fèi yòngcost; expenditure; expense
- 收费shōu fèito charge a fee
- 消费xiāo fèito consume (goods and services, resources etc)
- 学费xué fèituition fee; tuition
Example Sentence
这件事花费了很多时间。Zhè jiàn shì huā fèi le hěn duō shí jiān.This matter took a lot of time.
这Zhèthis件jiànitem事shìmatter花费huā fèiexpense了le(completed action)很hěnvery多时duō shílong time间jiānbetween。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
弗 (sound) over 贝 (money): money going out — ‘to spend, consume, expend; a fee, expense, charge, cost; wasteful, costly; a surname’ (花费, 费用, 浪费). Simplified from 費.
A way to remember it
Money (贝) going out — to spend; a fee (费用, 浪费).