What's the Hourly Wage? Meaning and Usage

Meaning 1：asking about hourly wage (What's the hourly wage?)

What's the hourly wage? 🔊

/wʌts ði ˈaʊərli weɪdʒ/

phrase

A question you ask to find out how much money someone earns or pays for one hour of work.

Person asking hourly wage in interview at cafe

asking about hourly wage 🔊

➕

/ˈæskɪŋ əˈbaʊt ˈaʊərli weɪdʒ/

phrase

A direct question used to find out the amount of money paid for one hour of work, commonly asked in job interviews or when discussing compensation.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Combination of 'what is', 'hourly' (hour + -ly), and 'wage' (Old French 'wage' meaning payment).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine asking 'What's the hour? Lee wage?' – think of a worker named Lee checking his pay per hour.

📖 Example

During the interview at the coffee shop, the first thing I asked was, "What's the hourly wage?" 🔊 During the interview at the coffee shop, the first thing I asked was, "What's the hourly wage?"

🔗 Collocations

ask about hourly wage – to inquire the pay rate per hour

negotiate hourly wage – to discuss and agree on the hourly pay

offer an hourly wage – to propose a specific amount of pay per hour

🔄 Synonyms

What's the pay per hour? (phrase) – A synonym asking the same question about hourly compensation.

What's the hourly rate? (phrase) – Another way to ask for the hourly wage amount.

How much per hour? (phrase) – A shortened version of the question.

📖 Cultural Story

Commonly used in job interviews to inquire about compensation. The phrase reflects modern labor practices where hourly wages are a standard metric for pay.