Hanyu Jiaocheng • BLCU • Shopping Lesson
Hanyu Jiaocheng Shopping Lesson — 多少钱 and Buying Things in Chinese
The shopping chapter in 汉语教程 (Hanyu Jiaocheng) by Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) teaches how to ask prices, use Chinese money, and negotiate in shops. 多少钱 (how much?) is the key question — this page covers all 17 shopping words plus the numbers you need for prices.
Shopping Vocabulary — 17 Words
Pay special attention to 买 (mǎi, to buy) vs 卖 (mài, to sell) — they are near-homophones and one of the most common beginner mix-ups in the Hanyu Jiaocheng shopping lesson.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 多少钱 | duōshao qián | how much money / how much does it cost? | The most useful question in any shop |
| 钱 | qián | money | |
| 块 / 元 | kuài / yuán | yuan (RMB, spoken / written) | 块 in speech; 元 in written/formal contexts. Both mean ¥1 |
| 毛 / 角 | máo / jiǎo | 10 cents (spoken / written) | 块 = ¥1, 毛 = ¥0.10, 分 = ¥0.01 |
| 分 | fēn | 1 cent / fen | Rarely used today — prices round to the jiao |
| 贵 | guì | expensive | 太贵了 = too expensive (common when bargaining) |
| 便宜 | piányí | cheap / inexpensive | Pronunciation note: 便 is piàn not biàn in this word |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy | 买东西 = to go shopping |
| 卖 | mài | to sell | 买/卖 are near-homophones — 3rd tone buys, 4th tone sells |
| 要 | yào | to want / to need | 我要这个 = I want this one |
| 这个 | zhège | this one / this thing | 那个 (nà ge) = that one |
| 那个 | nàge | that one / that thing | |
| 一共 | yīgòng | altogether / in total | 一共多少钱？= How much is it altogether? |
| 打折 | dǎzhé | discount / on sale | 八折 = 20% off (literally: 8 tenths of original price) |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can / may / it's okay | 可以便宜一点吗？= Can you make it cheaper? |
| 找钱 | zhǎo qián | to give change | 给你找钱 = here is your change |
| 收据 | shōujù | receipt | Could I have a receipt: 能给我收据吗？ |
Practice Dialogue — At the Market
A student (A) shops at a street market. The vendor (B) sells fruit.
这个苹果多少钱一斤？
Zhège píngguǒ duōshao qián yī jīn?
How much is a jin (500g) of these apples?
五块钱一斤。
Wǔ kuài qián yī jīn.
Five yuan per jin.
太贵了！可以便宜一点吗？
Tài guì le! Kěyǐ piányí yīdiǎn ma?
That's too expensive! Can you make it a bit cheaper?
好吧，四块五一斤，这已经很便宜了。
Hǎo ba, sì kuài wǔ yī jīn, zhè yǐjīng hěn piányí le.
Okay, 4.50 yuan a jin — that's already very cheap.
那我买两斤。一共多少钱？
Nà wǒ mǎi liǎng jīn. Yīgòng duōshao qián?
Then I'll take two jin. How much is it altogether?
一共九块钱。
Yīgòng jiǔ kuài qián.
Nine yuan in total.
好的，给你十块。
Hǎo de, gěi nǐ shí kuài.
Okay, here's ten yuan.
找你一块钱。谢谢！
Zhǎo nǐ yī kuài qián. Xièxie!
Here's one yuan change. Thank you!
Numbers 0–100 for Prices
The Hanyu Jiaocheng shopping lesson requires you to recognise and say prices. These are the numbers used most often in money contexts.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 零 | líng | 0 | |
| 一 | yī | 1 | Becomes yí before 4th tone words, yì before 1st/2nd/3rd |
| 二 / 两 | èr / liǎng | 2 | 两 (liǎng) before measure words: 两个 not 二个 |
| 三 | sān | 3 | |
| 四 | sì | 4 | |
| 五 | wǔ | 5 | |
| 六 | liù | 6 | |
| 七 | qī | 7 | |
| 八 | bā | 8 | |
| 九 | jiǔ | 9 | |
| 十 | shí | 10 | 11 = 十一, 20 = 二十, 100 = 一百 |
| 百 | bǎi | 100 | 325 = 三百二十五 |
Grammar Patterns
How much does it cost?
这件衣服多少钱？— How much is this shirt?
多少 = how many/much. No 吗 needed — 多少 is already a question word.
Too [adjective]
太贵了！— Too expensive! / 太好了！— Wonderful!
了 at the end intensifies the 太 pattern. Common in natural speech.
Is it possible to / Can I…?
可以便宜一点吗？— Can you make it cheaper?
Polite request formula. 一点 = a little bit.
Altogether / in total
一共多少钱？— How much altogether?
Always comes before the total amount. Often the last question before paying.