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费心 (fèi xīn) — to take trouble (over something); to go out of one's way (for someone)

Definition

费心 means 'to go out of one's way (for someone)' — a polite verb/noun-ish phrase about the trouble someone has taken on your behalf, often used in 请您费心 ('may I trouble you to…').

to take trouble (over something)to go out of one's way (for someone)

Examples

  • 费心，。
    Nín fèi xīn le, zhēn shì guò yì bú qù.
    You've gone to so much trouble — I really feel bad.
  • 费心。
    Zhè jiàn shì hái yào qǐng nín duō fèi xīn.
    I'll have to trouble you a lot with this matter.
  • ，。
    Wèi le wǒ de shì, tā fèi le bù shǎo xīn.
    He went to no small trouble for my sake.

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
心xīnheart

费, to spend, acts on 心, the heart, to mean taking 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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →
Appears in
Greetings & Politeness

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