Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 費ひ がかかる the cost of ~ is incurred
Transportation costs quite a bit every month.
〈 物もの 〉 費ひ を 払はら う to pay for a ~ expense
Members need to pay membership fees every year.
〈 物もの 〉 費ひ を 抑おさ える to cut down on ~ expenses
I often turn off the lights to cut down on utility costs.
Expressions 私し 費ひ で at one's own expense; privately funded Related words 費用 is a standalone noun meaning 'cost' or 'expense', while 費 is a suffix attached to other nouns to specify what kind of expense it is (e.g. 交通費 ).
費 denotes an expense or cost category, especially in accounting or budgeting contexts (交通費 ), whereas 代 is a more casual term for a specific charge (タクシー代 ).
Don't confuse with 代 and 費 are both cost-suffixes, but 代 usually names the price paid for one specific item or service (食事代 ), while 費 covers broader or ongoing expenses (食費 , 生活費 ).
費 and 被 share the reading ひ but 費 means 'expense/cost' (費用 ), while 被 is a prefix marking someone who receives an action (被害者 ).
Word family· 155 consumption; spending; expenditure
cost; expense
expenses; costs; expenditure
fuel efficiency; gas mileage; fuel consumption
waste; squander; extravagance
Show 25 more Show fewer expenses; spending; outlay
tuition; school expenses
food expenses; food costs; board
membership fee; dues
at one's own expense; out-of-pocket
travel expenses; travel costs
public expense; public funds
national expenditure; government spending; public funds
construction cost
actual expenses; out-of-pocket costs · cost price
private expense; personal funds; one's own expense
miscellaneous expenses; incidental costs
annual expenditure · annual salary for Diet members
war expenditures; war costs
dormitory fees; boarding expenses
provision of expenses; scholarship; financial aid
club budget; club expenses
enormous expenditure; huge cost
travel expenses; transportation costs; fare
entertainment expenses
utility costs; energy bill; cost of heat and electricity
production cost
advertising expenses; publicity costs
advertising expenses; advertising costs
medical expenses; cost of treatment
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Etymology The kanji 費 originally means 'to spend' or 'expenditure'. As a suffix, it derives from this meaning and is used to form compound nouns indicating types of expenses.
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