邮费 (yóu fèi) — postage, postal charges

Definition

noun
postagepostal charges

Examples

  • 邮费？
    Jì zhè ge bāo guǒ xū yào duō shǎo yóu fèi?
    How much postage is needed to send this package?
  • 邮费。
    Wǎng shàng mǎi dōng xī chāo guò yì bǎi yuán jiù miǎn yóu fèi.
    If you buy over one hundred yuan online, postage is free.
  • 邮费，。
    yóu fèi Zhǎng jià le, xiàn zài jì yì fēng xìn yào yí kuài wǔ.
    Postage has gone up; now it costs one yuan fifty to send a letter.

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.

邮yóupostal
费fèifee

The 邮 idea of postal service combines with 费 to mean the charge for mailing.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 郵; 邮 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 郵 pairs 垂 (“far, remote”) with 邑 (“city”) to show a relay station; the simplified 邮 is a later shorthand.

Open 邮 →

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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