材料费 (cái liào fèi) — material cost; cost of materials

Definition

noun
material costcost of materials

Examples

  • 材料费。
    Zhè ge gōng chéng de cái liào fèi hěn gāo.
    The material cost of this project is very high.
  • 材料费。
    Wǒ men xū yào jì suàn cái liào fèi.
    We need to calculate the material cost.
  • 材料费。
    Gōng sī jiàng dī le cái liào fèi.
    The company reduced the material 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.

材料materials
材cáimaterial料liàomaterial
联合Side by side
费fèicost

The characters '材料' materials and '费' cost combine to mean the expense for materials.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái材cái
Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Open 材 →

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

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →

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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