缴费
jiǎo fèi · HSK 7
to pay a fee
🧾 缴 (hand over) + 费 (fee) = hand over the fee, i.e. pay a charge
缴 jiǎo means to hand over or submit (often money or documents); 费 fèi means fee or expense. Put together they mean settling a bill — paying utilities, tuition, or fines. Sound cue: fèi is the same fèi as in 学费 tuition and 电费 electric bill.
缴 — silk radical 纟 + 敫 (jiǎo, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 纟 originally referred to threads or cords, hinting at binding or tying up. The right side 敫 supplies the sound. Over time the meaning shifted from 'entangle/wind around' to 'hand over' or 'pay' (as in 缴费, to pay a fee).
费 — 弓 bow + 弗 (phonetic 'fú/fèi')
费 is a phono-semantic compound. The bottom 贝 (cowrie shell, ancient money) gives the meaning 'cost/expense,' while 弗 on top supplies the sound. Originally it referred to spending money or wasting resources, and today it means 'fee,' 'expense,' or 'to consume.'