Xiaoyu is haggling over a cup in a small shop. Chen Hao wants one too, which brings the price down.
What you learn to do
asking a price
saying it is too expensive
asking for a discount
paying and taking your leave
XXiaoyu小雨
CChen Hao陈浩
TThe shopkeeper老板
XXiaoyu
老板,这个杯子多少钱?
Lǎobǎn, zhè gè bēizi duōshao qián ?
Excuse me, how much is this cup?
TThe shopkeeper
三十五。那个大的四十。
Sānshí wǔ. Nà gè dà de sìshí.
Thirty-five. The big one next to it is forty.
XXiaoyu
有点儿贵。便宜一点儿吧。
Yǒudiǎnr guì. Piányi yīdiǎnr ba.
That is a bit steep. Make it a little cheaper.
TThe shopkeeper
三十,不能再少了。
Sānshí, bù néng zài shǎo le.
Thirty, I cannot go any lower.
CChen Hao
我也要一个。两个多少钱?
Wǒ yě yào yī gè. Liǎng gè duōshao qián ?
I want one too. How much for the two?
TThe shopkeeper
两个五十五。
Liǎng gè wǔshí wǔ.
Fifty-five for the two.
XXiaoyu
好,就要这两个。
Hǎo, jiù yào zhè liǎng gè.
Good, we will take these two.
TThe shopkeeper
一共五十五块。
Yīgòng wǔshí wǔ kuài.
Fifty-five yuan altogether.
CChen Hao
给您。谢谢老板!
Gěi nín. Xièxie lǎobǎn !
Here you are. Thank you!
TThe shopkeeper
慢走。
Màn zǒu.
Mind how you go.
Vocabulary to remember
老板lǎobǎnshopkeeper, the boss (of a shop or restaurant)
杯子bēizicup, glass
贵guìexpensive, dear
便宜piányicheap, inexpensive
有点儿yǒudiǎnra bit, rather (of something unwelcome)
再zàiagain, once more
少shǎofew, to put less in
一共yīgòngin all, altogether
慢走màn zǒugoodbye (said by the one staying to the one leaving)
大dàbig, large
Language points
有点儿 in front, 一点儿 behind
Both translate as "a little" and they do not go in the same place. 有点儿贵 comes before the adjective and expresses discomfort: it is a bit expensive, and that bothers me. 便宜一点儿 follows it and asks for a change: make it a little cheaper. You do not say 一点儿贵, and 有点儿便宜 would mean that a price this low worries you.
Haggling without giving offence
便宜一点儿吧 is the full formula: the verb, the amount, and 吧 which turns an order into a suggestion. You do not name a figure first. The shopkeeper answers 不能再少了, "I cannot go any lower", which is a polite refusal and often negotiable once, but not twice.
慢走, the phrase of the one who stays
慢走 literally means "walk slowly" and is said to the person leaving: a shopkeeper to a customer, a host to a guest. It is not returned: the one leaving answers 再见, or nothing at all. It has a cousin at table, 慢吃, and one in the street, 慢点儿.
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