Lesson 7: Shopping and Money
Learn to ask prices, talk about money, and use the 多少钱 question structure in shops and markets.
Overview
Shopping vocabulary is instantly practical. From the moment you land in a Chinese-speaking country, you will need to ask prices, understand amounts, and respond to a vendor. This lesson covers how to ask "how much does it cost," how to state prices using the currency system, and key adjectives for describing value. It builds directly on the numbers you learned in Lesson 2.
The currency system in Chinese has two registers: the formal written form uses 元 (yuán), while everyday speech uses 块 (kuài). Both mean the same thing, but 块 is what you will almost always hear in shops and markets.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson you can:
- Ask the price of something using 多少钱
- State prices in yuan and jiao
- Say something is expensive, cheap, or too costly
- Complete a simple shopping transaction in Chinese
Vocabulary
| Character | Pinyin | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 买 | mǎi | verb | to buy | 我想买这个。 |
| 卖 | mài | verb | to sell | 这里卖苹果。 |
| 钱 | qián | noun | money | 多少钱？ |
| 块 | kuài | measure | yuan (spoken) | 五块钱 |
| 元 | yuán | measure | yuan (formal) | 五十元 |
| 毛 | máo | measure | 0.10 yuan (spoken) | 五块八毛 |
| 贵 | guì | adj | expensive | 太贵了！ |
| 便宜 | piányí | adj | cheap, inexpensive | 这个很便宜。 |
| 太 | tài | adverb | too (excessively) | 太贵了。 |
| 一共 | yīgòng | adverb | altogether, total | 一共多少钱？ |
| 给 | gěi | verb | to give | 给你钱。 |
| 找 | zhǎo | verb | to give change | 找你五块。 |
| 东西 | dōngxi | noun | things, stuff | 你买了什么东西？ |
| 衣服 | yīfu | noun | clothes | 这件衣服多少钱？ |
Grammar Focus
Pattern 1: 多少钱 to ask price
Structure: Item + 多少钱？
This is one of the most useful phrases in all of Mandarin Chinese. 多少 means "how much/many" and 钱 means "money." The item you want to ask about goes at the beginning, and the question phrase follows. No extra verb is needed.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这个多少钱？ | Zhège duōshao qián? | How much is this? |
| 那件衣服多少钱？ | Nà jiàn yīfu duōshao qián? | How much is that piece of clothing? |
| 一共多少钱？ | Yīgòng duōshao qián? | How much is it altogether? |
Common mistake: adding 是 before 多少钱. You do not need 这个是多少钱; the short form 这个多少钱 is standard and completely natural.
Pattern 2: Stating prices with 块/元 and 毛
Structure: Number + 块/元 (+ Number + 毛)
Prices in Chinese go from largest unit to smallest: yuan first, then jiao (0.10 yuan). In speech, yuan is 块 and jiao is 毛. For whole yuan amounts, you just say the number and 块. For mixed amounts, you say both: 五块八毛 (5 yuan 8 jiao = 5.80 yuan).
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 三块钱 | sān kuài qián | 3 yuan |
| 十五块八毛 | shíwǔ kuài bā máo | 15.80 yuan |
| 一百二十元 | yī bǎi èrshí yuán | 120 yuan |
Common mistake: saying the price as individual digits like "one-five" instead of "fifteen." Chinese prices use the same number logic as Lesson 2: 十五块, not 一五块.
Pattern 3: 太...了 for "too much"
Structure: 太 + Adjective + 了
太 means "too" in the sense of "excessively." When added before an adjective and followed by 了, it expresses that something exceeds an acceptable level. This structure is very common in bargaining and everyday reactions.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 太贵了！ | Tài guì le! | Too expensive! |
| 这个太便宜了。 | Zhège tài piányí le. | This is incredibly cheap. |
| 太多了！我吃不下。 | Tài duō le! Wǒ chī bú xià. | Too much! I cannot eat it all. |
Common mistake: using 很 when you mean 太. 很贵 means "very expensive" (neutral observation). 太贵了 means "excessively expensive" (a complaint or exclamation). The 了 at the end is part of the fixed pattern and should not be omitted.
Dialogue
Bargaining at a clothing market.
顾客: 你好！这件衬衫多少钱？ Nǐ hǎo! Zhè jiàn chènshān duōshao qián? Hello! How much is this shirt?
老板: 这件一百八。 Zhè jiàn yī bǎi bā. This one is 180.
顾客: 太贵了！便宜一点可以吗？ Tài guì le! Piányí yīdiǎn kěyǐ ma? Too expensive! Can you make it a bit cheaper?
老板: 那给你一百五，这是最低价了。 Nà gěi nǐ yī bǎi wǔ, zhè shì zuì dī jià le. Then 150 for you, that is the lowest price.
顾客: 好吧，我买两件。一共多少钱？ Hǎo ba, wǒ mǎi liǎng jiàn. Yīgòng duōshao qián? Alright, I will take two. How much is it altogether?
老板: 两件三百块，给你整数。 Liǎng jiàn sān bǎi kuài, gěi nǐ zhěngshù. Two pieces is 300 yuan, I will make it a round number for you.
Practice
Exercise 1: Fill in the blank
- 这个苹果 __ 钱？(how much)
- 那双鞋太 __ 了！(expensive)
- 一共 __ 块钱。(fifty-two)
- 老板，便宜 __ 可以吗？(a little)
- 我想 __ 这件衬衫。(buy)
Exercise 2: Translate to Chinese
- How much is this bag?
- It is too expensive. Can it be cheaper?
- I will buy two. How much altogether?
- This shirt is very cheap.
- Do you have anything cheaper?
Exercise 3: Answer these questions
- 你买东西的时候喜欢讨价还价吗？
- 你觉得什么东西很贵？
- 你上次买东西花了多少钱？
Cultural Note
Bargaining is common and expected in Chinese markets, particularly in tourist areas, clothing markets, and small independent stalls. In these settings, the first price given is often significantly higher than what the seller expects to receive. A common opening move is to offer around half the asking price and then meet somewhere in the middle. Fixed-price stores (supermarkets, chain shops, department stores) do not expect bargaining, and attempting it there may cause embarrassment. Learning to say 太贵了 and asking 便宜一点可以吗 (Can you make it a bit cheaper?) are genuinely useful real-world skills. The whole exchange is usually friendly and low-pressure, and vendors often enjoy the banter.