Level A · Beginner

How much is it?

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
  1. Xiaoyu

    老板杯子多少

    Lǎobǎn, zhè gè bēizi duōshao qián ?

    Excuse me, how much is this cup?

  2. The shopkeeper

    三十四十

    Sānshí wǔ. Nà gè dà de sìshí.

    Thirty-five. The big one next to it is forty.

  3. Xiaoyu

    有点儿便宜一点儿

    Yǒudiǎnr guì. Piányi yīdiǎnr ba.

    That is a bit steep. Make it a little cheaper.

  4. The shopkeeper

    三十

    Sānshí, bù néng zài shǎo le.

    Thirty, I cannot go any lower.

  5. Chen Hao

    多少

    Wǒ yě yào yī gè. Liǎng gè duōshao qián ?

    I want one too. How much for the two?

  6. The shopkeeper

    五十

    Liǎng gè wǔshí wǔ.

    Fifty-five for the two.

  7. Xiaoyu

    Hǎo, jiù yào zhè liǎng gè.

    Good, we will take these two.

  8. The shopkeeper

    一共五十

    Yīgòng wǔshí wǔ kuài.

    Fifty-five yuan altogether.

  9. Chen Hao

    谢谢老板

    Gěi nín. Xièxie lǎobǎn !

    Here you are. Thank you!

  10. The shopkeeper

    慢走

    Màn zǒu.

    Mind how you go.

Vocabulary to remember

  • 老板 lǎobǎn shopkeeper, the boss (of a shop or restaurant)
  • 杯子 bēizi cup, glass
  • guì expensive, dear
  • 便宜 piányi cheap, inexpensive
  • 有点儿 yǒudiǎnr a bit, rather (of something unwelcome)
  • zài again, once more
  • shǎo few, to put less in
  • 一共 yīgòng in all, altogether
  • 慢走 màn zǒu goodbye (said by the one staying to the one leaving)
  • big, 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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