开支

• Pinyin: kāi zhī
• Hanzi breakdown: 开 = to open, expend; 支 = branch, also to pay/disburse

Meaning

Expenditure; expenses; spending.

A formal term for expenses or spending, often used in official, business, or financial contexts. Interchangeable with 开销 but slightly more formal. Collocates with 政府 (government), 财政 (fiscal), 预算 (budget), 节约 (economize).

Examples

1. 政府削减了不必要的行政开支，把更多资金用于民生项目。 The government cut unnecessary administrative expenses and allocated more funds to livelihood projects.
2. 公司正在严格控制各项开支，以应对经济下行的压力。 The company is strictly controlling all expenditures to cope with economic downturn pressures.
3. 家庭开支要有规划，不能入不敷出。 Household expenses need to be planned — you can't spend more than you earn.

Usage Guide

Context: finance, government, business, accounting

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 公司需要削减开支。(The company needs to cut expenses.)
• 日常开支超出了预算。(Daily expenses exceeded the budget.)

Don't Say

• 我今天的开支是一根香蕉。(开支 is more formal — for casual small purchases, 花了 or 买了 sounds more natural)

Origin & History

开 (to expend) + 支 (to pay out, disburse). To pay out — expenditure.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal