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

fèi expenses, fees; to cost, to spend; wasteful 9 strokes · Radical (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

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

=
top not
bottom sea shell

Radical

The radical of is — 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: .

How the character is built

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

HSK 4 Words Containing 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.
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.
làngfèi to waste
不要浪费粮食。
Búyào làngfèi liángshi.
Don't waste food.
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.
shōufèi to charge a fee
这个停车场怎么收费?
Zhège tíngchēchǎng zěnme shōufèi?
How does this parking lot charge?
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

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

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

Tasks Featuring 费 / 相关任务

Words containing 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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