fèiyong: 费用 - Fee, Cost, Expense

• Keywords: feiyong, 费用, Chinese for fee, Chinese for cost, Chinese for expense, living costs in China, tuition fee in Chinese, medical expenses in Chinese, HSK 3 vocabulary, what is feiyong
• Summary: An essential Chinese noun for any beginner, 费用 (fèiyong) translates to 'fee,' 'cost,' or 'expense.' It's a broad term used to describe the money you pay for services, activities, and general living. This guide will teach you how to discuss everything from tuition fees and medical expenses to travel costs, and clarify the important difference between `费用 (fèiyong)`, `价格 (jiàgé)`, and `成本 (chéngběn)`.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): fèi yòng
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: HSK 3
• Concise Definition: A general term for money spent on a service, goods, or activity; a fee, cost, or expense.
• In a Nutshell: `费用` is your go-to word for almost any money you have to pay out. Think of it as the “expenditure” or “outlay.” It's not the price tag on a shirt (`价格`), but the total cost you incur for something, like your monthly phone bill, the fee for a visa application, or your university tuition. It’s the money that goes out of your wallet to cover something.

• 费 (fèi): This character means “fee,” “cost,” or “to spend.” The bottom part, `贝 (bèi)`, is the radical for “shell,” which was used as currency in ancient China, so it's strongly associated with money and valuables. The top part provides the sound.
• 用 (yòng): This character simply means “to use” or “utility.”
• Together: `费用 (fèiyong)` literally combines “spending/fee” (费) + “to use” (用). This creates the logical meaning of “money spent for use,” which perfectly describes an expense or a fee for a service.

While `费用` is a practical, everyday term, its usage touches upon the pragmatic nature of Chinese culture regarding finances. Discussing costs, expenses, and getting good value is very common and not considered rude. A key cultural difference lies in its breadth compared to English. In English, we distinguish sharply between a “fee” (for a service, like a lawyer's fee), a “cost” (the total amount for a project or item, like the cost of building a house), and an “expense” (often in a business or budgeting context, like travel expenses). `费用` acts as a large umbrella covering all these concepts. You can use it for `学费` (tuition fee), `生活费用` (living costs), and `出差费用` (business trip expenses). This reflects a more holistic view of expenditure. For a learner, this is actually a simplification: when in doubt about what word to use for money being paid out, `费用` is often a safe bet.

`费用` is used constantly in both formal and informal situations. It often combines with other words to specify the type of cost.

• Daily Life: You'll encounter it when paying bills (`水电费` - utility fees), discussing living expenses (`生活费`), or paying for services (`手续费` - processing fee).
• Business and Travel: In a business context, `报销费用 (bàoxiāo fèiyong)` means “to reimburse expenses.” `交通费用 (jiāotōng fèiyong)` refers to transportation costs.
• Formal Situations: It's used in contracts, medical bills (`医疗费用`), and legal agreements (`法律费用`) to refer to required payments.

The connotation is neutral. It's simply a factual term for money that needs to be paid.

• Example 1:
  • 这里的费用太高了，我们去别的地方吧。
  • Pinyin: Zhèlǐ de fèiyong tài gāo le, wǒmen qù bié de dìfāng ba.
  • English: The costs here are too high, let's go somewhere else.
  • Analysis: A very common and general use of `费用`. Here it could refer to the cost of food, drinks, or an entrance fee at a venue.
• Example 2:
  • 申请签证需要多少费用？
  • Pinyin: Shēnqǐng qiānzhèng xūyào duōshǎo fèiyong?
  • English: How much is the fee to apply for a visa?
  • Analysis: `费用` is the standard term for official charges like application fees.
• Example 3:
  • 公司可以报销这次出差的交通费用。
  • Pinyin: Gōngsī kěyǐ bàoxiāo zhè cì chūchāi de jiāotōng fèiyong.
  • English: The company can reimburse the transportation expenses for this business trip.
  • Analysis: Shows a common collocation, `交通费用` (transportation costs), and its use in a business context with `报销` (to reimburse).
• Example 4:
  • 这个月的医疗费用是我们最大的开销。
  • Pinyin: Zhège yuè de yīliáo fèiyong shì wǒmen zuìdà de kāixiāo.
  • English: This month's medical expenses are our biggest expenditure.
  • Analysis: `医疗费用` (medical expenses) is a fixed phrase. This sentence shows how it fits into a personal budget discussion.
• Example 5:
  • 价格包括所有费用，没有额外收费。
  • Pinyin: Jiàgé bāokuò suǒyǒu fèiyong, méiyǒu éwài shōufèi.
  • English: The price includes all fees, there are no extra charges.
  • Analysis: This sentence helpfully contrasts `价格` (price) with `费用` (fees). The price is the total, which already contains all the associated fees.
• Example 6:
  • 我每个月的生活费用大约是五千块。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ měi gè yuè de shēnghuó fèiyong dàyuē shì wǔqiān kuài.
  • English: My monthly living expenses are about 5,000 RMB.
  • Analysis: `生活费用` (or more commonly, `生活费`) is a crucial term for anyone living in China.
• Example 7:
  • 如果你取消预订，会有一笔取消费。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ nǐ qǔxiāo yùdìng, huì yǒu yī bǐ qǔxiāo fèi.
  • English: If you cancel the reservation, there will be a cancellation fee.
  • Analysis: Here, `费` is used as a suffix, which is very common. The full word would be `取消费用`, but `取消费` is more frequent and natural.
• Example 8:
  • 这项服务的安装是免费的，不收任何费用。
  • Pinyin: Zhè xiàng fúwù de ānzhuāng shì miǎnfèi de, bù shōu rènhé fèiyong.
  • English: The installation for this service is free of charge; we don't collect any fees.
  • Analysis: `免费 (miǎnfèi)` means “free,” literally “exempt from fees.” This sentence reinforces that concept.
• Example 9:
  • 修理这台电脑的费用是多少？
  • Pinyin: Xiūlǐ zhè tái diànnǎo de fèiyong shì duōshǎo?
  • English: What is the cost to repair this computer?
  • Analysis: A practical question asking about the cost of a service (repair).
• Example 10:
  • 我们需要减少不必要的费用。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen xūyào jiǎnshǎo bù bìyào de fèiyong.
  • English: We need to cut down on unnecessary expenses.
  • Analysis: A classic example of using `费用` in the context of budgeting and saving money.

The most common mistake for learners is confusing `费用`, `价格`, and `成本`.

• `费用 (fèiyong)` - Expense/Fee: The money a *consumer pays* for a service or as part of a larger cost. It's about the expenditure.
  • Correct: 这次旅行的总费用是两千美元。(The total expense of this trip is $2000.)
• `价格 (jiàgé)` - Price: The *price tag* on a specific item for sale. It's the amount the seller is asking for.
  • Correct: 这件衣服的价格是多少？ (What is the price of this piece of clothing?)
  • Incorrect: 这件衣服的费用是多少？ (This sounds like you're asking about the cost to produce it or some associated fee, not its sale price.)
• `成本 (chéngběn)` - Cost (Production/Business): The *cost to the producer* or business to make something.
  • Correct: 我们必须降低生产成本。(We must lower our production costs.)
  • Incorrect: 我买这个手机的成本是五百块。(A consumer wouldn't say this; you would say `价格` or `我花了五百块`.)

Think of it this way: A factory has a `成本` (cost) to make a phone. They sell it to a store, which puts a `价格` (price) on it. You buy it, and for you, the money you spent is part of your monthly `费用` (expenses).

• 价格 (jiàgé) - Price. The amount an item is sold for. Distinct from `费用`, which is the expense incurred.
• 成本 (chéngběn) - Cost. The cost from a producer's or business's perspective to create something.
• 学费 (xuéfèi) - Tuition fee. A specific and very common type of `费用`.
• 小费 (xiǎofèi) - Tip / Gratuity. Literally “small fee,” it's a type of voluntary `费用`.
• 免费 (miǎnfèi) - Free of charge. The antonym, meaning “exempt from `费` (fee).”
• 付费 (fùfèi) - To pay a fee. The verb form associated with `费用`.
• 报销 (bàoxiāo) - To reimburse. A verb often used with `费用`, as in `报销费用` (reimburse expenses).
• 开销 (kāixiāo) - Expenses / Spending. A close synonym to `费用`, often used more colloquially to refer to one's total spending.
• 手续费 (shǒuxùfèi) - Processing fee / service charge. A very specific type of `费用` for administrative tasks.
• 运费 (yùnfèi) - Shipping fee. The `费用` for transporting goods.