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伙食费 (huǒ shí fèi) — food expenses, mess fee, board (as in room and board)

Definition

伙食费 is the money paid for meals — board, as in room and board. 伙食 itself means 'meals / food provided', so this is specifically the meal-related portion of living costs, separate from rent or tuition.

noun
food expensesmess feeboard (as in room and board)

Examples

  • 伙食费。
    Zhè ge yuè de huǒ shí fèi hái méi jiāo ne.
    This month's food bill hasn't been paid yet.
  • 伙食费。
    Gōng sī měi gè yuè bǔ tiē wǔ bǎi kuài huǒ shí fèi.
    The company subsidizes five hundred yuan for food expenses each month.
  • 伙食费。
    Lǚ xíng shí huǒ shí fèi shì yì bǐ bù xiǎo de kāi zhī.
    During travel, food expenses are a significant cost.

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.

伙食group meals
伙huǒgroup食shífood
偏正Modifier + head
费fèifee

伙 'group' + 食 'food' gives meals, and 费 'fee' makes the charge for them.

Characters in this word

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 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →

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

  • 亼亼jímouth
  • 皀皀jía bowl of rice on a stand

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.

Open 食 →

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 →
Appears in
Food (General)Money & Currency

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