水电费 (shuǐ diàn fèi) — water and electricity bill; utility bill for wa…

Definition

noun

water and electricity billutility bill for water and power

水电费。
Zhè ge yuè de shuǐ diàn fèi hěn gāo.
This month's water and electricity bill is very high.
水电费。
Wǒ zuó tiān jiāo le shuǐ diàn fèi.
I paid the water and electricity bill yesterday.
水电费。
shuǐ diàn fèi Kě yǐ yòng shǒu jī zhī fù.
The water and electricity bill can be paid via mobile phone.

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.

水电water and electricity

联合Side by side

水 (water) and 电 (electricity) together specify what the 费 (fee) is for.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

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.