Questions & Answers about wéixiū fèiyòng bù gāo.
What does each part of 维修费用不高 mean?
A natural breakdown is:
- 维修 = repair / maintenance
- 费用 = cost / expense / fee
- 不 = not
- 高 = high
So literally, it is:
- repair expense not high
And in natural English:
- The repair cost isn’t high.
- Repair costs are not high.
In Chinese, this kind of compressed noun phrase is very common, so 维修费用 means repair costs/repair expenses.
Why is there no 是 in this sentence?
Because 高 is an adjective, and in Mandarin, adjectives can directly act as the predicate.
So Chinese often says:
- 费用不高 = The cost is not high
without needing 是.
Compare:
- 他是老师。 = He is a teacher.
- Here 老师 is a noun, so 是 is used.
- 他很忙。 = He is busy.
- Here 忙 is an adjective, so no 是.
So 维修费用不高 is correct because 高 describes the cost directly.
Why isn’t there a 很 before 高?
This is a very common question.
In Mandarin, when an adjective is used as the predicate in a plain positive statement, you often put 很 before it:
- 费用很高。 = The cost is high.
But in a negative sentence, 不 already fills that role, so 很 is not needed:
- 费用不高。 = The cost is not high.
So:
- 高 by itself can sound contrastive or incomplete in some contexts.
- 很高 is the normal positive statement.
- 不高 is the normal negative statement.
Is 维修费用 one word or two words?
It is best understood as a compound noun phrase made from:
- 维修 = repair/maintenance
- 费用 = expense/cost
Together:
- 维修费用 = repair costs / maintenance expenses
In normal writing, Chinese characters are written without spaces, so it appears as:
- 维修费用不高。
Even though learners often separate it for study purposes, native text does not.
Is 维修 a verb here or a noun?
Originally, 维修 is a verb meaning to repair / to maintain.
But in Chinese, verbs often appear before nouns to modify them, similar to how English uses noun modifiers. So here:
- 维修 + 费用 = the expenses for repairing/maintenance
So in this sentence, 维修 is functioning like a modifier inside the noun phrase.
You can think of it as:
- 维修费用 = repair expenses
- 维修人员 = maintenance staff
- 维修记录 = maintenance records
Can I also say 维修费不高?
Yes. 维修费不高 is very natural.
- 费用 is a bit more formal or general: costs / expenses
- 费 is shorter and very commonly used in everyday compounds:
- 学费 = tuition
- 电费 = electricity bill
- 维修费 = repair fee
So both work:
- 维修费用不高。
- 维修费不高。
The first may sound a little more formal or written.
Why use 不高 instead of 低?
Both are possible, but the nuance is a little different.
- 不高 = not high
- 低 = low
不高 is often softer and more neutral. It simply says the cost does not count as high.
- 维修费用不高。 = The repair cost isn’t high.
If you say:
- 维修费用很低。 = The repair cost is very low.
that sounds stronger and more positive. It suggests the price is definitely low, not just “not expensive.”
So 不高 is often the safer, more natural choice when you want to be modest or non-absolute.
How do I pronounce 不 here? Does its tone change?
Here it is pronounced bù with fourth tone, because the next word 高 is first tone.
So:
- 不高 = bù gāo
Important rule:
- 不 usually becomes bú before another fourth-tone syllable.
For example:
But here:
- 高 is first tone, so it stays bù.
Is the word order the same as in English?
Could this sentence mean repair costs in general are not high, or this particular repair cost is not high?
It can mean either, depending on context.
By itself, 维修费用不高 is somewhat context-dependent. It could mean:
- The repair cost is not high
- Repair costs are not high
If you want to make it clearly specific, you can add something like:
- 这次维修费用不高。 = The repair cost this time isn’t high.
- 这个维修费用不高。 = This repair cost isn’t high.
If you want a more general statement:
- 这种机器的维修费用不高。 = The repair cost for this kind of machine is not high.
Is 维修 the same as 修理?
They are related, but not always identical.
- 修理 is a very common everyday word for fix / repair
- 维修 often sounds a bit more formal, technical, or professional, and can include maintenance as well as repair
For example:
- 修理电脑 = fix a computer
- 设备维修 = equipment maintenance/repair
So in a phrase like 维修费用, 维修 sounds quite natural, especially in business, technical, or service contexts.
Could I say 维修的费用不高 instead?
Yes, you can, and it is grammatical.
- 维修费用不高
- 维修的费用不高
Both mean essentially the same thing.
The version without 的 is more compact and usually more natural in set compound-like phrases. Chinese often drops 的 when the modifier and noun form a close unit.
So in most cases, 维修费用 sounds better than 维修的费用, unless you want a slightly more explicit structure.
What kind of tone or feeling does this sentence have?
It sounds fairly neutral and matter-of-fact.
- 维修费用不高。 = The repair cost is not high.
It does not sound as enthusiastic as:
- 维修费用很便宜。 = The repair cost is very cheap.
And it does not sound as strong as:
- 维修费用很低。 = The repair cost is very low.
So 不高 is a nice, practical way to say something is reasonably priced without exaggerating.
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