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费神 (fèi shén) — (formal) to bother (someone) with mental effort; may I trouble you to…; to exert great mental energy; to take trouble over

Definition

费神 (fèi shén) means to spend a lot of mental energy, or politely to trouble someone to think about something. Often used in formal written contexts as a set phrase.

verb
(formal) to bother (someone) with mental effortmay I trouble you to…to exert great mental energyto take trouble over

Examples

  • 费神？
    Zhè fèn bào gào nín fèi shén kàn yí xià hǎo ma?
    Could I trouble you to take a look at this report?
  • ，。
    Wèi le gǎi nà piān lùn wén, tā fèi le hěn duō shén.
    He put a lot of mental effort into revising that paper.
  • 费神，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù bú yòng nín fèi shén, wǒ zì jǐ néng chǔ lǐ.
    You don't need to bother yourself with this project; I can handle it myself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

费fèispend/trouble
神shénspirit/mental energy

费神 combines 费 'spend/trouble' with 神 'spirit/mental energy', meaning to use up mental effort.

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 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 →

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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