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Daily lessons · Day 6 of 90
How much is it
Prices, money words, and paying
Prices come at you fast and nobody slows down for them. Today is about asking, catching the answer and paying, which in China usually means a phone.
Asking the price
One phrase, and three ways to extend it.
Why it works
多少钱 has no verb at all, and it does not need one. Chinese leaves out whatever the situation makes obvious, and at a market stall both the thing and the buying are obvious. 太贵了 shows another habit: 太 and 了 frame the adjective between them, and leaving off the 了 sounds unfinished to a Chinese ear. 多少 expects a number that could be large, which is why prices take it rather than the 几 you used for hours on day 4's numbers.
Money words
A spoken layer and a written layer, used side by side.
Why it works
The tag says 25元 and the seller says 二十五块, much as a British shop says £25 and a person says twenty five quid. The difference is that in Chinese the spoken word is used by everyone, all the time. If you listen for 元 you will not hear it, so listen for 块.
Paying
Phone, card or cash, and one line for bargaining.
Why it works
可以 in front and 吗 at the end make a polite may I, with the thing you want in the middle. Take any verb phrase and wrap it: 可以坐这儿吗, kěyǐ zuò zhèr ma, can I sit here. 吗 turns a statement into a yes or no question, which day 8 covers properly.
Paying with a phone
Most payments in mainland China are made by scanning a QR code with a phone, and small stalls may display nothing but a code. Cash is still legal tender and still taken, but change can be slow in coming. Before a trip, check how visitors can set up mobile payment with a foreign card, because the options change and it is much easier to sort out at home than at a noodle stall.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
The tag says 30元. What will the seller say?
- 三十块 sānshí kuài
- 三十元 sānshí yuán
- 三块 sān kuài
- 十三块 shísān kuài
Show the answer
三十块 sānshí kuài 元 is written, 块 is spoken. Both mean yuan.
Type how much is it? in pinyin.
Show the answer
duōshao qián Literally how much money.
Which asks for the total?
- 一共多少钱？ yígòng duōshao qián?
- 太贵了 tài guì le
- 这个 zhège
- 现金 xiànjīn
Show the answer
一共多少钱？ yígòng duōshao qián? 一共 is altogether.
Said without the 了, 太贵 sounds
- unfinished
- more polite
- like a question
- plural
Show the answer
unfinished 太 and 了 frame the adjective together.
How do you turn 扫码, scan the code, into can I scan to pay?
- 可以扫码吗？ kěyǐ sǎo mǎ ma?
- 扫码可以 sǎo mǎ kěyǐ
- 吗扫码 ma sǎo mǎ
- 扫码了 sǎo mǎ le
Show the answer
可以扫码吗？ kěyǐ sǎo mǎ ma? 可以 in front, 吗 at the end.
Type the word for cash.
Show the answer
xiànjīn Still accepted, though phones do most of the paying.
Where is 便宜一点儿吧 appropriate?
- at a market stall
- in a supermarket
- at a hotel desk
- in a chain coffee shop
Show the answer
at a market stall Bargaining belongs where prices are not fixed.
毛 is
- a tenth of a yuan, in speech
- a hundred yuan
- the written word for yuan
- a five yuan coin
Show the answer
a tenth of a yuan, in speech Ten 毛 make one 块.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 30
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.