chéngběn: 成本 - Cost

• Keywords: chengběn, 成本, cost in Chinese, business cost, production cost, Chinese for business, learn Chinese vocabulary, 成本 meaning, 成本 vs 价格, 成本 vs 费用, HSK 5 vocabulary.
• Summary: Learn the essential Chinese business term 成本 (chéngběn), meaning “cost,” specifically the prime or production cost of a good or service. This page breaks down its meaning, from character origins to modern usage in both business and daily life (like “time cost”). Understand the crucial differences between 成本 (chéngběn), 价格 (jiàgé - price), and 费用 (fèiyòng - expense) to elevate your practical Chinese.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): chéngběn
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: 5
• Concise Definition: The foundational cost incurred in producing or creating something.
• In a Nutshell: 成本 (chéngběn) is the direct, fundamental cost required to make a product or deliver a service. Think of it as the “cost of goods sold”—the price of raw materials, factory labor, and other direct inputs. It's the baseline number before any administrative expenses or profit are added. Metaphorically, it's also used to describe the “cost” of any resource spent, like time, effort, or emotional energy.

• 成 (chéng): To complete, to become, to succeed. It implies the process of creation or formation is finished.
• 本 (běn): Root, origin, foundation, or capital. The character is a pictogram of a tree (木) with a line at the bottom to emphasize its roots.
• Combined Meaning: The characters literally combine to mean “the foundational capital (本) to complete (成) something.” This perfectly illustrates the concept of a prime cost—the essential resources needed to bring a product or project into existence.

While “cost” is a universal concept, the frequent and specific use of 成本 (chéngběn) in modern China reflects the country's status as a global manufacturing and economic powerhouse. Discussions about controlling 成本 are constant in business, government policy, and even news reports about industry. A key cultural-linguistic point for learners is to distinguish 成本 (chéngběn) from related but distinct Western concepts often lumped under “cost”:

• 成本 (chéngběn) vs. Price (价格 jiàgé): In English, one might ask “What's the cost of this shirt?” meaning “What is the price?” In Chinese, this is a clear error. 成本 is what the factory paid to make the shirt; 价格 (jiàgé) is the price on the tag for the consumer.
• 成本 (chéngběn) vs. Expense (费用 fèiyòng): 成本 is a direct production cost (e.g., steel for a car). 费用 (fèiyòng) is an operational expense (e.g., the marketing team's salary, office rent). While both are “costs” to a business, Chinese separates them more clearly in common language than English often does. Understanding this distinction is crucial for business communication.
• 成本 (chéngběn) vs. Toll/Sacrifice (代价 dàijià): 成本 is a neutral, financial, or resource-based term. 代价 (dàijià) is the negative “price” you pay for a mistake or a difficult choice, implying sacrifice, loss, or suffering. You would talk about the 成本 of building a bridge, but the 代价 of a war.

成本 is a high-frequency word used in both formal business contexts and increasingly in informal, metaphorical ways.

• In Business and Economics: This is its primary domain. It's used to discuss production, budgeting, and profitability.
  • `降低成本` (jiàngdī chéngběn) - to lower/reduce costs
  • `生产成本` (shēngchǎn chéngběn) - production cost
  • `人力成本` (rénlì chéngběn) - labor/human resource cost
  • `运营成本` (yùnyíng chéngběn) - operating cost
• Metaphorical Usage: This is common among educated speakers and on social media to describe the investment of non-monetary resources.
  • `时间成本` (shíjiān chéngběn) - time cost (e.g., the time “wasted” commuting)
  • `机会成本` (jīhuì chéngběn) - opportunity cost (the value of the next-best alternative you give up)
  • `情感成本` (qínggǎn chéngběn) - emotional cost

The connotation is almost always neutral and analytical.

• Example 1:
  • 我们必须想办法降低生产成本。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen bìxū xiǎng bànfǎ jiàngdī shēngchǎn chéngběn.
  • English: We must find a way to lower the production cost.
  • Analysis: A classic and extremely common business sentence. Here, 成本 refers directly to the manufacturing cost.
• Example 2:
  • 这部手机的材料成本很高。
  • Pinyin: Zhè bù shǒujī de cáiliào chéngběn hěn gāo.
  • English: The material cost of this phone is very high.
  • Analysis: This specifies the type of cost, showing how 成本 can be modified. It refers to the cost of the physical components.
• Example 3:
  • 每天通勤的时间成本太大了。
  • Pinyin: Měitiān tōngqín de shíjiān chéngběn tài dà le.
  • English: The time cost of commuting every day is too great.
  • Analysis: A perfect example of metaphorical usage. No money is explicitly mentioned, but time is treated as a valuable resource with a “cost.”
• Example 4:
  • 创业的初期成本包括租金、设备和员工工资。
  • Pinyin: Chuàngyè de chūqī chéngběn bāokuò zūjīn, shèbèi hé yuángōng gōngzī.
  • English: The initial cost of starting a business includes rent, equipment, and employee salaries.
  • Analysis: This sentence uses 成本 as a general term for start-up capital, lumping together items that might be separated in formal accounting.
• Example 5:
  • 为了控制成本，公司决定减少出差次数。
  • Pinyin: Wèile kòngzhì chéngběn, gōngsī juédìng jiǎnshǎo chūchāi cìshù.
  • English: In order to control costs, the company decided to reduce the number of business trips.
  • Analysis: “控制成本” (kòngzhì chéngběn) is a very common business phrase for “cost control.”
• Example 6:
  • 你需要考虑一下这个决定的机会成本。
  • Pinyin: Nǐ xūyào kǎolǜ yīxià zhège juédìng de jīhuì chéngběn.
  • English: You need to consider the opportunity cost of this decision.
  • Analysis: This shows the direct translation of the economic concept “opportunity cost,” a term used globally in business and academic settings.
• Example 7:
  • 随着原材料价格上涨，我们的成本压力越来越大。
  • Pinyin: Suízhe yuáncáiliào jiàgé shàngzhǎng, wǒmen de chéngběn yālì yuèláiyuè dà.
  • English: As the price of raw materials rises, our cost pressure is getting bigger and bigger.
  • Analysis: “成本压力” (chéngběn yālì) is a great phrase that means “cost pressure”—the strain a business feels from rising costs.
• Example 8:
  • 这家餐厅的优势在于其较低的运营成本。
  • Pinyin: Zhè jiā cāntīng de yōushì zàiyú qí jiàodī de yùnyíng chéngběn.
  • English: This restaurant's advantage lies in its relatively low operating costs.
  • Analysis: Differentiates “operating cost” from other types, like production cost. It refers to the day-to-day costs of running the place.
• Example 9:
  • 学习一门新语言需要投入很高的时间成本和精力成本。
  • Pinyin: Xuéxí yī mén xīn yǔyán xūyào tóurù hěn gāo de shíjiān chéngběn hé jīnglì chéngběn.
  • English: Learning a new language requires a high investment of time cost and energy cost.
  • Analysis: This example beautifully illustrates the flexibility of 成本 by applying it to two abstract resources: time and energy (精力).
• Example 10:
  • 虽然这本书很贵，但考虑到它的价值，我觉得成本效益很高。
  • Pinyin: Suīrán zhè běn shū hěn guì, dàn kǎolǜ dào tā de jiàzhí, wǒ juéde chéngběn xiàoyì hěn gāo.
  • English: Although this book is expensive, considering its value, I think it's very cost-effective.
  • Analysis: Introduces another key term: 成本效益 (chéngběn xiàoyì), which means “cost-effectiveness” or “cost-benefit.”

• Mistake 1: Confusing 成本 (cost) with 价格 (price).
  • Incorrect: `这件衣服的成本是多少？` (What is the cost of this piece of clothing?) - This sounds like you're asking the shopkeeper what they paid the factory for it, which is unnatural.
  • Correct: `这件衣服的价格是多少？` or `这件衣服多少钱？` (What is the price of this piece of clothing? / How much is it?)
  • Rule: Use 成本 (chéngběn) for production/acquisition cost. Use 价格 (jiàgé) for selling/market price.
• Mistake 2: Using 成本 for general expenses.
  • Imprecise: `我这个月的生活成本很高。` (My living cost this month is very high.) - While understandable, a more natural term for personal, day-to-day spending is 开销 (kāixiāo) or 花费 (huāfèi).
  • More Natural: `我这个月的生活开销很大。` (My living expenses this month are very high.)
  • Rule: 成本 is best for business/production or clear metaphorical costs (time, opportunity). For personal “spending” or “expenses,” 开销 (kāixiāo) is often better.
• Mistake 3: Using 成本 for a negative sacrifice.
  • Incorrect: `战争的成本是无数生命的逝去。` (The cost of war is the loss of countless lives.) - This sounds too cold and financial.
  • Correct: `战争的代价是无数生命的逝去。` (The price/toll of war is the loss of countless lives.)
  • Rule: For heavy, negative, and often irreversible consequences, use the emotionally-weighted word 代价 (dàijià).

• `价格 (jiàgé)` - Price. The amount something is sold for. Profit is the difference between `价格` and `成本`.
• `费用 (fèiyòng)` - Expense; fee. General costs of operation not directly tied to production, like rent, marketing, or utilities.
• `代价 (dàijià)` - Cost; price; toll. A synonym used almost exclusively for negative, abstract, or sacrificial costs (e.g., the cost of fame, the price of failure).
• `开销 (kāixiāo)` - Expenses; spending. A more informal term typically used for personal or household daily spending.
• `利润 (lìrùn)` - Profit. The direct counterpart to cost. Revenue minus 成本 equals 利润.
• `预算 (yùsuàn)` - Budget. A plan for future spending, which includes an estimate of the expected 成本.
• `资本 (zīběn)` - Capital. The financial assets or value of assets used to start or operate a business, which is used to cover the 成本.
• `造价 (zàojià)` - Construction cost. A very specific term for the cost of building something, like a bridge or a skyscraper.