Phono-semantic compound:
貝 (조개 패, “cowrie, money”) — semantic, indicating relation to wealth, valuables, or money.
弗 (불, phonetic element) — provides the sound bì (Mandarin) / 비 (Korean).
Thus, originally “to use/spend valuables (money).”

Appears frequently in modern vocabulary involving money, costs, and consumption.
費用 (비용) — expense, cost
消費 (소비) — to consume, expenditure
浪費 (낭비) — to waste, squander
經費 (경비) — funds, expenses
學費 (학비) — tuition fee

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

to read

to change, to transform, upheaval

elephant, form, shape, image

beforehand, in advance

upright, chaste, virtuous

wealth, property

to reproach, to demand

to lease, to rent

to spend, to use up, expense, cost, fee, consumption, expenditure

wealth, capital, resources

reward, prize, award, to grant a reward, to appreciate, to enjoy

to be virtuous, to be wise, to be worthy

to rise, to get up, to stand

to leap over, to surpass, to go beyond

to go over, to cross, to surpass, to overtake

interest, delight

to be distant, distance, spur on a bird’s leg, toenail/cockspur thorn

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Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

費

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Words that derived from 費

Neighboring characters in the dictionary