Learn how to ask how much something is
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| Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how much something is in Chinese. |
| For example, "How much is this?"" is |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| Jason Xu is at a small grocery store. |
| He sees a snack with no visible price tag, and asks for the price. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| 这个 (zhèige) |
| "this" |
| 这个 |
| 这个 |
| 两 (liǎng) |
| "two" |
| 两 |
| 两 |
| Listen to the conversation. |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 两块。(Liǎng kuài.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| "How much is this?" |
| 两块。(Liǎng kuài.) |
| "Two kuai." |
| Let’s break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Jason asks |
| "How much is this?" |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| Jason's question starts with 这个 (zhèige), "this," 这个。 |
| This word can be divided into two parts. |
| First is 这 (zhèi), "this." 这 (zhèi) . 这. |
| Pronunciation note: 这 (zhèi) can be pronounced as zhè or zhèi. Zhèi is more common in everyday speech. |
| Next is 个 (gè), which is a universal measure word. 个 . 个. |
| Together, 这个 (zhèige) means "this one" or "this." 这个 . 这个. |
| While 这个 (zhèige) can translate as “this one” or “this,” for this lesson, we’ll use “this.” |
| After that is 多少钱 (duōshǎo qián), meaning, "How much money?" 多少钱。 |
| The first part is 多少 (duōshǎo) "How many" or "How much," in this context. 多少 . 多少。 |
| Note, the literal meaning of the Chinese characters: 多 (duō), many, and 少 (shǎo), few. So you could think of it like “a lot” or “a little” money, but it translates as "how much." 多少 (duōshǎo) |
| Next is 钱 (qián) "money." 钱 . 钱。 |
| Together, 多少钱 (duōshǎo qián) means "How much money?" or "How much?" 多少钱。 |
| All together, 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) literally means "This how much money?" but translates as "How much is this?" |
| 这个多少钱? (Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the shop clerk says, |
| "Two kuai." |
| 两块。(Liǎng kuài.) |
| First is 两 (liǎng) "two." 两 is used to say "two" when followed by a measure word. 两 . 两. |
| Next is 块 (kuài), which literally means "chunk" or "piece", but is also used as a unit for Chinese money in colloquial speech. 块 . 块。 |
| Together 两块 means "two kuai." |
| 两块。 |
| Note, at the time of this lesson, two kuai buys a bottle of water. |
| The pattern is |
| ITEM 多少钱？ |
| ITEM how much [is] ？ |
| ITEM 多少钱？ |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {item} placeholder with the thing you’d like to know the price of. |
| Imagine you’d like to know the price of a coffee. |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi) "coffee." 咖啡 (kāfēi) . 咖啡。 |
| Ask, "How much is a coffee?" |
| Ready? |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| "How much is a coffee?" |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| There are two ways to say the number "2." |
| To represent the number 2, |
| such as in counting or a phone number, 2 is pronounced èr. |
| For example, 一、二、三、四、五 (yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ), |
| When used to express quantity, use 两 (liǎng) plus a measure word to say two of something. |
| For example, 两块, (liǎng kuài) "two kuai," 两个蛋糕 (liǎng ge dàngāo) "two cakes," |
| 两杯咖啡 (liǎng bēi kāfēi) "two cups of coffee." |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| ITEM 多少钱？(ITEM duōshǎo qián?) |
| ITEM how much [is] ？ |
| ITEM 多少钱？ |
| Let’s look at some more examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| “How much is this?” |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| “How much is a coffee?” |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| 蛋糕多少钱？(Dàngāo duōshǎo qián?) |
| “How much is a cake?” |
| 蛋糕多少钱？(Dàngāo duōshǎo qián?) |
| 那个多少钱？(Nèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| “How much is that?” |
| 那个多少钱？(Nèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 多少钱？(Duōshǎo qián?) |
| “How much?” |
| 多少钱？(Duōshǎo qián?) |
| Did you notice how the native speaker omitted 这个 (zhèige)？ |
| 多少钱？(Duōshǎo qián?) |
| "How much?" |
| When you’re asking how much something is, and it’s understood what you’re referring to, for example, when asking by pointing at something, you can omit the subject. |
| This pattern is |
| 多少钱？(Duōshǎo qián?) |
| You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the sentence pattern, |
| {Item} 多少钱？ |
| {Item} how much money? |
| Let's review the new words. |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi). |
| “Coffee” |
| 咖啡 . |
| 咖啡. |
| 蛋糕 (dàngāo). |
| “Cake.” |
| 蛋糕 . |
| 蛋糕. |
| 那个 (nèige). |
| “That.” |
| 那个 . |
| 那个. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "money?" |
| 钱 (qián) |
| 钱 (qián) |
| And how to say "how much?" |
| 多少 (duōshǎo) |
| 多少 (duōshǎo) |
| Do you remember how Jason Xu asks, |
| "How much is this?" |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 这个多少钱？(Zhèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| Do you remember how to say "two" when it's followed by a measure word? |
| 两 (liǎng) |
| 两 (liǎng) |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, |
| "Two kuai." |
| 两块。(Liǎng kuài.) |
| 两块。(Liǎng kuài.) |
| Do you remember how to say "coffee?" |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi) |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi) |
| And how to say "cake?" |
| 蛋糕 (dàngāo) |
| 蛋糕 (dàngāo) |
| Do you remember how to say "that?" |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| 那个(nèige) |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Jason , and you're at a farmers' market, where many items have no price tag. |
| You'd like to try a snack close to the clerk. Ask the price using the word for “that,” or 那个 (nèige). |
| Ready? |
| 那个多少钱？(Nèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 五块。(Wǔ kuài.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 那个多少钱？(Nèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| 那个多少钱？(Nèige duōshǎo qián?) |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine they’re also selling artisan coffee. Ask for the price of a coffee, or 咖啡 (kāfēi). |
| Ready? |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| 十块。(Shí kuài.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| 咖啡多少钱？(Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Ask for the price of a cake, or 蛋糕 (dàngāo). |
| Ready? |
| 蛋糕多少钱？(Dàngāo duōshǎo qián?) |
| 八块。(Bā kuài.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 蛋糕多少钱？(Dàngāo duōshǎo qián?) |
| 蛋糕多少钱？(Dàngāo duōshǎo qián?) |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask how much something costs. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of shopping at a grocery store. Let’s review. |
| Do you remember how to say "please"? |
| 请 (qǐng) |
| 请 (qǐng) |
| And how to say "that"? |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| 那个 (nèige) |
| Do you remember how to say, "Give me that, please"? |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| 请给我那个。 (Qǐng gěi wǒ nèige.) |
| Do you remember how to say the question-marking particle? |
| 吗 (ma) |
| 吗 (ma) |
| Do you remember the polite way to say "there is?" |
| 有 (yǒu) |
| 有 (yǒu) |
| And how to say “salt?” |
| 盐 (yán) |
| 盐 (yán) |
| Do you remember how to ask |
| "Is there any salt?" |
| 有盐吗？(Yǒu yán ma?) |
| 有盐吗？(Yǒu yán ma?) |
| Imagine you're Jack Jones , and you're at a grocery store, and you'd like to buy water. |
| Do you remember how to say "water" in Chinese? |
| 水 (shuǐ) |
| 水 (shuǐ) |
| Ask the clerk for water. |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| 好。给您。(Hǎo. Gěi nín.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| 请给我水。(Qǐng gěi wǒ shuǐ.) |
| You remember that you also wanted to buy milk |
| Do you remember how to say "milk" in Chinese? |
| 牛奶 (niúnǎi) |
| 牛奶 (niúnǎi) |
| Now ask the clerk if the store has milk. |
| Ready? |
| 有牛奶吗？(Yǒu niúnǎi ma?) |
| 有。在这里。 (Yǒu. Zài zhèlǐ.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 有牛奶吗？(Yǒu niúnǎi ma?) |
| 有牛奶吗？(Yǒu niúnǎi ma?) |
| You'd also like to know the price of a coffee. |
| Do you remember how to say "coffee" in Chinese? |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi) |
| 咖啡 (kāfēi) |
| Now ask for the price of a coffee. |
| 咖啡多少钱？ (Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| 十块。 (Shí kuài.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 咖啡多少钱？ (Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| 咖啡多少钱？ (Kāfēi duōshǎo qián?) |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Shop at a Grocery Store unit of this course. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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