交费

• Pinyin: jiāo fèi
• Hanzi breakdown: 交 = depicts crossed legs or intersecting lines — to intersect, hand over, exchange; 费 = 弓 (bow) + 贝 (shell/money) — to spend or use up resources

Meaning

To pay a fee; to make a payment. Refers to handing over money owed for a service, membership, utility, or other obligation.

交费 is a common everyday verb used when paying bills, utilities, tuition, or service charges. It is more colloquial and action-focused than 付款 (to make a payment, more formal/commercial). Common collocations: 交水电费 (pay utilities), 交学费 (pay tuition), 交停车费 (pay parking fee). Often used in the context of administrative or routine payments rather than purchasing goods.

Examples

1. 你记得去交这个月的电费吗？ Have you remembered to go and pay this month's electricity bill?
2. 学生需要在开学前交完学费。 Students need to pay their tuition fees before school starts.
3. 我刚在网上交了停车费。 I just paid the parking fee online.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, finance, utilities, education, admin

Tone: practical

Do Say

• 记得按时交费，不然会被停服务。(Remember to pay the fee on time, otherwise the service will be cut off.)
• 你可以在手机上交费，很方便。(You can pay the fee on your phone — it's very convenient.)

Don't Say

• 我交费了一件衬衫。(Don't use 交费 for buying goods — use 付钱 or 买. 交费 is for paying fees or bills, not purchasing items.)

Origin & History

Compound of 交 (to hand over, to deliver, to pay) and 费 (fee, expense, cost). Together they mean 'to hand over a fee' — the physical or transactional act of paying what is owed.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal