~料

~りょう · ~ryou · JLPT N2 · noun

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💴 料 = 米 rice + 斗 measuring ladle: rice measured out as payment

料 first meant measuring out grain, then materials, then the fee paid for them. As a suffix it marks a charge: 入場料 entry fee, 送料 shipping fee, 授業料 tuition. 料金 is the general word for a fare.

料 — rice 米 + dipper 斗
料 combines 米 (rice/grain) with 斗 (a measuring dipper), depicting the act of measuring out grain. From this concrete sense it extended to 'to measure, estimate, anticipate' and to 'materials' (things measured out for use), as in 材料 'materials' and 预料 'to anticipate'.

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