public expense; public funds
Refers to money spent by the government or public institutions, often contrasted with private or personal funds. Common in discussions of budgets, subsidies, and official travel.
This project is funded by public money.
There are strict restrictions on overseas business trips at public expense.
The inspection trip was carried out at public expense.
公費 is money paid from public/government funds, while 私費 is money paid out of one's own personal funds.
公費 means expense covered by public or organizational funds, the direct opposite of 自費 (paid out of one's own pocket).
公費 refers to money from public or official funds, the opposite of ポケットマネー, which is money paid from one's own personal funds.
工費 (construction cost) and 公費 (public funds) are pronounced identically but refer to completely different things, so context is essential.
Compound of 公 (public) and 費 (expense, cost). The kanji combination directly conveys the meaning of public expenditure.
The city injected a large amount of public funds into this redevelopment project.
It became a problem that the lawmaker used public funds for a personal trip.