军费 (jūn fèi) — military expenditure; defense spending

Definition

noun
military expendituredefense spending

Examples

  • 军费。
    Jīn nián jūn fèi zēng jiā le bù shǎo.
    Military expenditure increased quite a bit this year.
  • 军费。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng jiǎn shǎo jūn fèi.
    The government decided to reduce military spending.
  • 军费。
    jūn fèi Zhàn guó jiā yù suàn de hěn dà yí bù fen.
    Military expenditure accounts for a large part of the national budget.

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.

军jūnmilitary
费fèiexpense

军 marks the military sphere, and 费 means expenses, so the word denotes military spending.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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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