费钱 (fèi qián) — to be costly, to waste money

Definition

A verb-adjective meaning 'costly, wasteful of money' — describes spending that feels like a poor use of money, not just a high price.

to be costlyto waste money

费钱。
Mǎi zhè zhǒng míng pái bāo tài fèi qián le.
Buying this kind of designer bag is too costly.
，。
Zhè ge xiàng mù fèi le hěn duō qián, dàn xiào guǒ bù hǎo.
This project spent a lot of money, but the results weren't good.
？。
Nǐ fèi nà ge qián gàn shén me? bù rú cún qǐ lái.
Why waste that money? Better to save it.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

To spend or waste money gives the sense of being costly.

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.

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.

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 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

金戔錢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal; gold; money

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān錢qián

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Appears in