sau1 fai3收費收费
Jyutpingsau1 fai3
Yalesāu fai
Definition
To charge a fee or collect payment.
neutralmoneywork
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the act of demanding payment for services or entry. While often used in formal business contexts, it is perfectly natural in daily speech when discussing whether a service is free or paid. It is distinct from 畀錢, which focuses on the act of paying rather than the act of collecting.
Examples
Does this restaurant not charge any fees?
They said they would fix my computer, but they charge for it.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 畀錢, which means to pay. Using 收費 to mean paying money is a common error; remember that 收費 is what the service provider does, not the customer.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
