花费 (huā fèi) — to spend (time or money) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

花费 (huāfèi) is a transitive verb for 'spending' time, money, or effort, typically with an explicit object (e.g. 花费钱/时间). More formal than plain 花; weaker than the heavy-resource 耗费.

verb

to spend (time or money)

Examples

花费。
Wǒ huā fèi le hěn duō qián mǎi shū.
I spent a lot of money buying books.
花费。
Tā huā fèi le yì zhěng tiān zuò zuò yè.
He spent a whole day doing homework.
花费。
Bié huā fèi tài duō shí jiān wán yóu xì.
Don't spend too much time playing games.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

'花' and '费' both mean to consume, so together they mean to spend money or time.

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.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Money & Currency

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