花 (huā) as a verb means "to spend / use up" — money, time, effort. English splits this into two verbs (you spend money but take time), yet Chinese covers both with the single verb 花, and whatever is being consumed sits right after it: 花钱 (spend money), 花时间 (spend time), 花力气 (expend effort). Master its two sentence frames and you can say almost anything about cost. One footnote to clear up first: the same character 花 (huā) is also the noun "flower" (一朵花, 花园) — a homograph, unrelated in meaning; context and grammar keep them apart.
Sense 1: spend money
The first frame is 花 + amount, with the price expressed in 块 / 元. The thing you bought is added with a following verb or with 在…上 "on."
我昨天花了三百多买了双鞋。
wǒ zuótiān huā le sānbǎi duō mǎi le shuāng xié
I spent over three hundred on a pair of shoes yesterday.
出去玩可以，但别花太多钱。
chūqu wán kěyǐ, dàn bié huā tài duō qián
Going out is fine, but don't spend too much money.
Sense 2: spend time / effort
The very same verb governs time and energy — 花时间 (spend time), 花功夫 (put in effort), 花精力 (expend energy). Here 花 is the natural everyday choice where a textbook might reach for 度过.
我花了两个小时才做完作业。
wǒ huā le liǎng ge xiǎoshí cái zuò wán zuòyè
It took me two whole hours to finish my homework.
学好一门语言要花很多时间和精力。
xué hǎo yì mén yǔyán yào huā hěn duō shíjiān hé jīnglì
Learning a language well takes a lot of time and energy.
Sense 3: the cost frame (事 + 花 + 我 + amount)
The second major pattern lets the thing that costs you be the subject: [事情/事] + 花 + [person] + [amount]. The order is fixed — the person (who paid the price) comes before the amount.
这件事花了我不少心思。
zhè jiàn shì huā le wǒ bù shǎo xīnsi
This matter cost me a good deal of thought.
修车花了他一千多块。
xiū chē huā le tā yìqiān duō kuài
Fixing the car cost him over a thousand kuai.
The homograph: 花 "flower"
Written identically but a different word. As a noun, 花 (huā) is "flower / blossom," counted with 朵 or 束.
他买了一束花送给妈妈。
tā mǎi le yí shù huā sòng gěi māma
He bought a bouquet of flowers for his mom. (花 here = flower, the noun)
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 花钱 | huā qián | spend money |
| 花时间 | huā shíjiān | spend time |
| 花功夫 / 花工夫 | huā gōngfu | put in effort |
| 花力气 | huā lìqi | expend energy |
| 花精力 | huā jīnglì | spend energy |
| 花心思 | huā xīnsi | put thought into |
| 花在…上 | huā zài … shàng | spend on … |
| 花光 / 花完 | huā guāng / huā wán | spend it all / use up |
Grammar notes
花 takes 了 to register the completed expenditure, and resultatives to say it ran out: 花光了 "spent it all," 花完了 "used up." When money and time both appear, the time-cost often uses a duration expression right after 花. Its main near-synonym is 用 (yòng) "use": 用 highlights utilizing a tool or method (用筷子 "use chopsticks," 用微信 "use WeChat"), while 花 highlights consuming / spending down a resource. For the writing of prices, see money spoken and written; for the earning-and-outlay counterpart, 买/卖.
Common Mistakes
1. Wrong order in the cost frame. The person comes before the amount: 花 + 我 + amount.
❌ 修车花了一千块他。
Incorrect order — person before amount: 花了他一千块.
✅ 修车花了他一千块。
xiū chē huā le tā yìqiān kuài
Fixing the car cost him a thousand kuai.
2. Using 度过 for money. 度过 only takes a period of time (度过难关, 度过假期), never money.
❌ 我这个月度过了很多钱。
Incorrect — 度过 can't take money; 'spend money' is 花.
✅ 我这个月花了很多钱。
wǒ zhège yuè huā le hěn duō qián
I spent a lot of money this month.
3. Using 花 where you mean "use a tool/method." Utilizing something is 用, not 花.
❌ 中国人一般花筷子吃饭。
Incorrect — using chopsticks is 用, not 花 (spend).
✅ 中国人一般用筷子吃饭。
Zhōngguó rén yìbān yòng kuàizi chīfàn
Chinese people usually eat with chopsticks.
4. Dropping 上 in "spend on X." The 在…上 wrapper needs both halves.
❌ 他花了很多钱在游戏。
Incomplete — the 'on X' frame is 在 X 上: 在游戏上花钱.
✅ 他在游戏上花了很多钱。
tā zài yóuxì shàng huā le hěn duō qián
He's spent a lot of money on games.
Key Takeaways
- 花 (huā) is one verb for what English splits: it spends money (花钱) and time / effort (花时间, 花功夫) alike, with the consumed thing right after it.
- Two frames: 花 + amount (我花了三百块) and the cost frame 事 + 花 + 我 + amount (这件事花了我很多时间) — person before amount.
- "Spend on X" is 在 X 上花钱; keep the 上.
- Don't swap in 度过 (time-only) or 用 (utilize a tool); and remember the noun homograph 花 "flower."
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- 用 (yòng) — to use / withHSK 2 — 用 (yòng) is both the full verb 'to use' (用电脑, 用筷子) and the instrument coverb 'with / by means of' that sits BEFORE the verb (用中文写 'write in Chinese'); its negation 不用 means 'no need', not 'can't use'.
- 买 / 卖 (mǎi / mài) — buy / sellHSK 1 — 买 (mǎi, tone 3) 'buy' and 卖 (mài, tone 4) 'sell' are a minimal pair — same shape, opposite meaning, told apart entirely by tone. Get the tone wrong and you flip buyer into seller. Includes 买东西, 卖完, and the affordability potential 买不起.
- Money: 块/毛/分 vs 元/角/分HSK 1 — Chinese money has two registers: you SPEAK 块/毛/分 (三块五) but WRITE 元/角/分 (三元五角). The trailing unit is dropped in speech (三块五 = ¥3.50), and 'two yuan' is 两块, never 二块.