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保护费 (bǎo hù fèi) — protection money (extorted by criminals)

Definition

Money paid to gangsters or criminals in exchange for not being harassed or harmed — always extorted, not a legitimate fee. Pair with 交 (pay) or 收 (collect).

noun
protection money (extorted by criminals)
Measure word · 笔

Examples

  • 保护费。
    Zhè tiáo jiē de shāng hù měi gè yuè dōu yào jiāo bǎo hù fèi.
    The shopkeepers on this street have to pay protection money every month.
  • 保护费。
    Jǐng chá dài bǔ le shōu bǎo hù fèi de fàn zuì tuán huǒ.
    The police arrested the criminal gang that collected protection money.
  • 保护费。
    Tā yīn wèi jù jué jiāo bǎo hù fèi ér zāo dào le wēi xié.
    He was threatened because he refused to pay protection money.

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.

保护protect
保bǎoprotect护hùprotect
联合Coordinate
费fèifee

保 and 护 both mean protect, and 费 is money, giving a fee for protection.

Characters in this word

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

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
户
户hù护hù
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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
Crime & Police

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