ChineseGrammarWiki/MD/A2/80.mw.html

<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 &quot;How Much Money&quot; with 多少钱 (duōshao qián)</h2>
<p>Before you learn how to count money in Chinese, make sure you know how to ask &quot;how much money&quot; when you go shopping in China.</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + 多少钱 ?</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>多少 钱</em> ？<span class="pinyin"><em>Duōshao qián</em>? </span><span class="trans">How much?</span></li>
<li>你 的 手机 <em>多少 钱</em>？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de shǒujī <em>duōshao qián</em>? </span><span class="trans">How much was your cell phone?</span></li>
<li>我们 的 午饭 <em>多少 钱</em>？<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen de wǔfàn <em>duōshao qián</em>? </span><span class="trans">How much is our lunch?</span></li>
<li>这 杯 咖啡<em>多少 钱</em>？<span class="pinyin">Zhè bēi kāfēi <em>duōshao qián</em>? </span><span class="trans">How much for this cup of coffee? </span></li>
<li>这 件 衣服 <em>多少 钱</em>？<span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn yīfu <em>duōshao qián</em>? </span><span class="trans">How much is this clothing? </span></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="jiegou">
<p>Number + 块 + Number + 毛</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>两 <em>块</em> 五 <em>毛</em> <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>kuài</em> wǔ <em>máo</em></span><span class="trans">two kuai five mao (2.5)</span></li>
<li>三 <em>块</em> 八 <em>毛</em> <span class="pinyin">sān <em>kuài</em> bā <em>máo</em></span><span class="trans">three kuai eight mao (3.8)</span></li>
<li>十 <em>块</em> 两 <em>毛</em> <span class="pinyin">shí <em>kuài</em> liǎng <em>máo</em></span><span class="trans">ten kuai two mao (10.2)</span></li>
<li>二十 三 <em>块</em> 八<em>毛</em> <span class="pinyin">èrshí-sān <em>kuài</em> bā <em>máo</em> </span><span class="trans">Twenty-three kuai eight mao (23.8)</span></li>
<li>五十 <em>块</em> 五 <em>毛</em> <span class="pinyin">wǔshí <em>kuài</em> wǔ <em>máo</em></span><span class="trans">fifty kuai five mao (50.5)</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Note that &quot;2.5 RMB&quot; reads as 两块五 (liǎng kuài wǔ).</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>二 <em>块</em> 五 <span class="pinyin">èr <em>kuài</em> wǔ </span></li>
<li>两 <em>块</em> 五 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>kuài</em> wǔ </span><span class="trans"> two kuai five mao (2.5) </span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>If the smaller units are only in tens, you can just say the number of tens. So &quot;3.8 RMB&quot; is 三块八 (sān kuài bā). 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 二 (èr) instead of 两 (liǎng).</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>两 <em>块</em> 两 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>kuài</em> liǎng </span></li>
<li>两 <em>块</em> 二 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>kuài</em> èr </span><span class="trans"> two kuai two mao (2.2) </span></li>
<li>五 <em>块</em> 两 <span class="pinyin">wǔ <em>kuài</em> liǎng </span></li>
<li>五 <em>块</em> 二 <span class="pinyin">wǔ <em>kuài</em> èr </span><span class="trans"> five kuai two mao (5.2) </span></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 &quot;3.86 RMB&quot; is</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>三 <em>块</em> 八 毛 六<span class="pinyin">sān <em>kuài</em> bā máo liù</span><span class="trans">three kuai eight mao six fen (3.86)</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>And if there's no smaller unit, e.g. &quot;3 RMB,&quot; you can just say:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>三 <em>块</em><span class="pinyin">sān <em>kuài</em> </span><span class="trans">Three kuai</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>块 (kuài) is the more common, informal way to talk about money. More formally you can use 元 (yuán) in exactly the same way. This is similar to the difference between &quot;dollars&quot; and &quot;bucks&quot; in American English, or &quot;pounds&quot; and &quot;quid&quot; in British English. 块 (kuài) is appropriate in more situations than &quot;bucks&quot; or &quot;quid,&quot; 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 href="A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(外国人实用汉语语法)" title="wikilink">A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)</a> (pp. 88-9) <a href="http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B001J0ADWA&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA">→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title="wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (pp. 233-4) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p>       </p>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title="wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p>