药费 (yào fèi) — medical expenses, cost of medicine

Definition

noun

medical expensescost of medicine

药费。
Zhè cì zhù yuàn de yào fèi yí gòng huā le liǎng wàn duō.
The medical expenses for this hospitalization totaled over twenty thousand.
药费。
Gōng sī kě yǐ bào xiāo yí bù fen yào fèi.
The company can reimburse part of the medical expenses.
，药费。
Yǒu le yī bǎo, yào fèi fù dān jiǎn qīng le bù shǎo.
With medical insurance, the burden of medical expenses has been greatly reduced.

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.

药yàomedicine

The cost of medicine.

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 藥; 药 is its simplified writing.

艹樂藥

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

樂

樂lè藥yào

Same sound today

In the traditional form 藥, 艹 shows grass and 樂 gives the sound; this story is about 藥, not about the simplified 药.

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.