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生活费 (shēng huó fèi) — living expenses (cost of daily living); (legal) alimony

Definition

noun
living expenses (cost of daily living)(legal) alimony

Examples

  • 生活费。
    Tā měi gè yuè dōu yào zhī fù hái zi de shēng huó fèi.
    He has to pay the child's living expenses every month.
  • ，生活费。
    Lí hūn hòu, tā ná dào le hěn gāo de shēng huó fèi.
    After the divorce, she received a high alimony.
  • ，生活费。
    Zài dà chéng shì, shēng huó fèi yuè lái yuè gāo.
    In big cities, living expenses are getting higher and higher.

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.

生活living
生shēnglive活huóalive
联合Coordinate
费fèiexpenses

生活 (living) and 费 (expenses) mean the costs of living.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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
Money & Currency

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