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  <h1>Counting money</h1>

  <p>Cash is king, even though China is now crazy for mobile payments. Either way, though, mastering how to say quantities of money is vital!</p>

  <h2 id="asking-how-much-money-with-多少钱-duōshao-qián">Asking "How Much Money" with <span class="hanzist">多少钱</span> (<span class="pinyinst">duōshao qián</span>)</h2>

  <p>Before you learn how to count money in Chinese, make sure you know how to ask "how much money" when you go shopping in China.</p>

  <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Subj. + <span class="hanzist">多少钱 ?</span></p>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">多少 钱 ？</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Duōshao qián?</span> <br/> How much?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 的 手机 多少 钱？</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ de shǒujī duōshao qián?</span> <br/> How much was your cell phone?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 的 午饭 多少 钱？</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen de wǔfàn duōshao qián?</span> <br/> How much is our lunch?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 杯 咖啡多少 钱？</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Zhè bēi kāfēi duōshao qián?</span> <br/> How much for this cup of coffee?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 件 衣服 多少 钱？</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn yīfu duōshao qián?</span> <br/> How much is this clothing?</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="stating-quantities-of-money">Stating Quantities of Money</h2>

  <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>

  <p>Chinese has a specific structure for talking about quantities for money:</p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Number + <span class="hanzist">块</span> + Number + <span class="hanzist">毛</span></p>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">两 块 五 毛</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">liǎng kuài wǔ máo</span> <br/> two kuai five mao (2.5)</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">三 块 八 毛</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">sān kuài bā máo</span> <br/> three kuai eight mao (3.8)</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">十 块 两 毛</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">shí kuài liǎng máo</span> <br/> ten kuai two mao (10.2)</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">二十 三 块 八毛</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">èrshí-sān kuài bā máo</span> <br/> Twenty-three kuai eight mao (23.8)</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">五十 块 五 毛</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">wǔshí kuài wǔ máo</span> <br/> fifty kuai five mao (50.5)</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>Note that "2.5 RMB" reads as <span class="hanzi">两块五</span> (<span class="pinyin">liǎng kuài wǔ)</span>.</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">二 块 五</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">èr kuài wǔ</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">两 块 五</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">liǎng kuài wǔ</span> <br/> two kuai five mao (2.5)</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>If the smaller units are only in tens, you can just say the number of tens. So "3.8 RMB" is <span class="hanzi">三块八</span> (<span class="pinyin">sān kuài bā</span>). This way of giving the price is normally only used for amounts under 100 RMB.</p>

  <p>When the smallest unit is 2, it reads as <span class="hanzi">二</span> (<span class="pinyin">èr</span>) instead of <span class="hanzi">两</span> (<span class="pinyin">liǎng</span>).</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">两 块 两</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">liǎng kuài liǎng</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">两 块 二</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">liǎng kuài èr</span> <br/> two kuai two mao (2.2)</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">五 块 两</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">wǔ kuài liǎng</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">五 块 二</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">wǔ kuài èr</span> <br/> five kuai two mao (5.2)</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>The first number is the amount of whole RMB (or dollars etc.), and the second is the amount smaller units (e.g. cents). So "3.86 RMB" is</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">三 块 八 毛 六</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">sān kuài bā máo liù</span> <br/> three kuai eight mao six fen (3.86)</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>And if there's no smaller unit, e.g. "3 RMB," you can just say:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">三 块</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">sān kuài</span> <br/> Three kuai</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p><span class="hanzi">块</span> (<span class="pinyin">kuài</span>) is the more common, informal way to talk about money. More formally you can use <span class="hanzi">元</span> (<span class="pinyin">yuán</span>) in exactly the same way. This is similar to the difference between "<b>dollars</b>" and "<b>bucks</b>" in American English, or "<b>pounds</b>" and "<b>quid</b>" in British English. <span class="hanzi">块</span> (<span class="pinyin">kuài</span>) is appropriate in more situations than "<b>bucks</b>" or "<b>quid</b>," though.</p>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="Indicating_a_number_in_excess" title="wikilink">Indicating a number in excess</a></li>

    <li><a href="Approximating_with_sequential_numbers" title="wikilink">Approximating with sequential numbers</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (<span class="hanzi">外国人实用汉语语法</span>) (pp. 88-9)</li>

    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 233-4)</li>
  </ul>
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