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费事 (fèi shì) — (verb-object) to take a lot of trouble; to be a hassle; (stative verb) troublesome; time-consuming

Definition

费事 means 'troublesome' or 'to take a lot of trouble' — can be used as a stative predicate (这件事费事) or as a verb-object phrase (费了很多事). Collapses to 麻烦 in everyday speech, but reads as slightly more formal.

(verb-object) to take a lot of troubleto be a hassle(stative verb) troublesometime-consuming

Examples

  • 费事，。
    Zhè jiàn shì tài fèi shì le, wǒ bù xiǎng zuò.
    This matter is too troublesome; I don't want to do it.
  • 。
    Wǒ men fèi le hěn duō shì cái zhǎo dào nà ge dì fāng.
    We went to a lot of trouble to find that place.
  • 费事，。
    Bié fèi shì le, wǒ men zì jǐ lái.
    Don't bother; we'll do it ourselves.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

费fèispend or cause
事shìmatter

费 means to spend or cause and 事 means matters or trouble, so it describes taking a lot of trouble.

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.

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 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
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