中介费 (zhōng jiè fèi) — agency fee; brokerage fee (paid to a real estate agent or intermediary)

Definition

noun
agency feebrokerage fee (paid to a real estate agent or intermediary)

Examples

  • ，中介费。
    Mǎi fáng shí, mǎi fāng tōng cháng yào fù yì bǐ zhōng jiè fèi.
    When buying a house, the buyer usually has to pay an agency fee.
  • 中介费。
    Zhè bǐ zhōng jiè fèi bāo kuò zhōng jiè de fú wù hé shǒu xù fèi.
    This agency fee includes the intermediary's service and processing charges.
  • 中介费。
    Hé tong lǐ xiě míng le zhōng jiè fèi de jīn é.
    The contract specifies the amount of the agency fee.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中介intermediary
中zhōngmiddle介jièbetween
联合Side by side
费fèifee

中 and 介 both point to betweenness; 费 is a fee, giving the charge for an intermediary.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

介 shows a central human form with two marks around it, indicating being between.

Open 介 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 費; 费 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
弗
弗fú費fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 費 has 貝, a cowry shell, and 弗, which gives a sound; the simplified 费 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 费 →

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