费 (fèi) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

fèi expenses, fees; to cost, to spend; wasteful 9 strokes · Radical 贝 (sea shell) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 费 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced fèi.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
费 — 9 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

费 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Top + Bottom. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

费 =
弗 top not
贝 bottom sea shell

Radical

The radical of 费 is 贝 — meaning sea shell. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 资败负购贺货赢责账赚.

How the character is built

费 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 贝 (money) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 弗 originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 费

费 fèi fee; charge; expense
这次旅行的费用不高。
Zhè cì lǚxíng de fèiyong bù gāo.
The cost of this trip is not high.
费用 fèiyong cost; expense; fee
留学的费用越来越高。
Liúxué de fèiyong yuèláiyuè gāo.
The cost of studying abroad is getting higher.
浪费 làngfèi to waste
不要浪费粮食。
Búyào làngfèi liángshi.
Don't waste food.
免费 miǎnfèi free of charge; for free
这个公园是免费的。
Zhège gōngyuán shì miǎnfèi de.
This park is free of charge.
收费 shōufèi to charge a fee
这个停车场怎么收费?
Zhège tíngchēchǎng zěnme shōufèi?
How does this parking lot charge?
学费 xuéfèi tuition fee; school fee
大学的学费一年多少钱?
Dàxué de xuéfèi yì nián duōshao qián?
How much is the annual tuition for university?

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

费 appears in 39 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

超市提供免费塑料袋。
From Mock Exam 04 →
那家店免费为顾客送家具。
From Mock Exam 16 →
如果方向不对,无论做多少努力可能都是白费。
From Mock Exam 13 →

Tasks Featuring 费 / 相关任务

Words containing 费 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 交流购物体验、商业活动内容
Shopping Experiences · 费、费用、免费
📚 谈论教学、学习情况
Education & Learning · 学费
📚 谈论生活中的环保情况
Environmental Protection · 浪费

FAQ

What does 费 mean in Chinese?

费 (fèi) means expenses, fees; to cost, to spend; wasteful. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 费 have?

费 is written in 9 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 费?

The radical of 费 is 贝 (sea shell). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 资, 败, 负, 购, 贺.

What is the pinyin for 费?

费 is pronounced fèi.

What HSK 4 words use 费?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 费 appears in 6 words, including 费 (fèi), 费用 (fèiyong), 浪费 (làngfèi), 免费 (miǎnfèi). See the full list above.

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