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房费 (fáng fèi) — room charge; hotel rate; rent (for accommodation)

Definition

A noun for the charge for a room — typically a hotel room. Unlike 房租 (rent for a longer-term apartment), 房费 is what you pay per night at a hotel or guesthouse.

noun
room chargehotel raterent (for accommodation)

Examples

  • 房费。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ diàn de fáng fèi hěn guì.
    The room charge at this hotel is very expensive.
  • 房费？
    Qǐng wèn fáng fèi bāo kuò zǎo cān ma?
    Does the room rate include breakfast?
  • 房费。
    Wǒ men měi yuè yào jiāo sān qiān yuán fáng fèi.
    We have to pay three thousand yuan in rent each month.

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.

房fángroom/house
费fèifee

“房” (room/house) and “费” (fee) mean the charge for lodging.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戶戶hùdoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng房fáng
Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

Open 房 →

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 →
Appears in
Accommodation

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