用费 (yòng fèi) — expense, cost | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

expensecost

用费。
Zhè cì lǚ xíng de yòng fèi chāo chū le yù suàn.
The expenses for this trip exceeded the budget.
用费。
Gōng sī xū yào kòng zhì rì cháng yòng fèi.
The company needs to control daily costs.
用费，。
Yī liáo yòng fèi zhú nián shàng shēng, ràng rén dān yōu.
Medical costs are rising year by year, which is worrying.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

用 expense and 费 cost mean money spent.

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.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

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.

弗貝費

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.