1.
one's own expense; paying for oneself
Paying costs out of one's own money rather than having an employer, the state, or insurance pay.
Compounds
- 自費出版: self-publishing
- 自費診療: medical treatment not covered by insurance
- 自費留学: studying abroad at one's own expense
Similar words
- 自腹: out of one's own pocket (colloquial; often a cost someone else might have paid)
- 私費: private expense (formal; the opposite of 公費, public expense)
Watch out
- The homophone 慈悲 means mercy.