花 huā — flower; blossom; to spend (money; time); fancy pattern
花园里开满了五颜六色的花。Huā yuán lǐ kāi mǎn le wǔ yán liù sè de huā.The garden is full of colorful flowers.
Common words: 花园 (huā yuán)、开花 (kāi huā)、鲜花 (xiān huā)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to spend"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to spend", including 花 (huā), 费 (fèi), 耗 (hào). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to spend" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 花 (huā), 费 (fèi), 耗 (hào) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span huā, fèi, hào — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 花 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 花 huāflower; blossom; to spend (money; time); fancy patternUseful words: 花园, 开花
- 费 fèito cost; to spend; fee; wasteful; expenses; (surname)Useful words: 浪费, 费用
- 耗 hàomouse; new; to waste; to spend; to consume; to squanderUseful words: 消耗, 耗费
Common words for these 3 "to spend" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 花 (huā) — so "to spend" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
花园huā yuángarden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc); (landscaped) park; yard with decorative plants开花kāi huāto bloom; to blossom; to flower; (fig.) to burst鲜花xiān huāflower; fresh flowers浪费làng fèito waste; to squander费用fèi yòngcost; expenditure; expense收费shōu fèito charge a fee消耗xiāo hàoto consume; to use up; to deplete; to expend耗费hào fèito waste; to spend; to consume; to squander耗时hào shítime-consuming; to take a period of (x amount of time)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "to spend".
费 fèi — to cost; to spend; fee; wasteful; expenses; (surname)
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.
Common words: 浪费 (làng fèi)、费用 (fèi yòng)、收费 (shōu fèi)
耗 hào — mouse; new; to waste; to spend; to consume; to squander
这件事耗费了我们很多时间和精力。Zhè jiàn shì hào fèi le wǒ men hěn duō shí jiān hé jīng lì.This matter consumed a lot of our time and energy.
Common words: 消耗 (xiāo hào)、耗费 (hào fèi)、耗时 (hào shí)
All 3 characters
Open 花、费、耗 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.