Lesson 4: Shopping and Numbers

Lesson 4: Shopping and Numbers

You are buying a book, choosing a gift and ordering a drink. Your task is to find out what is being counted, what the price includes and how much you will pay. A correct number is useful only when its unit is clear.

You already know basic numbers, 有, 很 and 吗 questions. This lesson extends those skills to prices up to 1,000 and short shopping conversations. All prices below are fictional examples in mainland Chinese renminbi, not current price estimates. We use simplified characters and dictionary-tone pinyin; spoken tone changes are explained separately.

1. Build the number before adding money

For 11–19, put the ones digit after 十: 十一 — shíyī is eleven. For 20–99, use a tens digit + 十, then add a ones digit if needed:

百 — bǎi means hundred and 千 — qiān means thousand. In the full numeral, include 一 in 一百 and 一千. 零 — líng bridges a missing place inside a number: 一百零五 is 105, whereas 一百五十 is 150. There is no need to put 零 after an exact hundred such as 五百.

Both 二百 and 两百 can mean 200. You do not switch from one exclusively correct form to another merely by adding yuan. Compare 二百元 and 两百块: both express 200 yuan. By contrast, the ordinary counting sequence uses 一、二、三, and twenty-two is 二十二, not 两十两. Before the classifiers practiced here, use 两个苹果 and 两本书. Learn these patterns without extending them into “两 before every possible unit.”

In 一百 and 一千, 一 is written yī here but normally pronounced yì before third-tone bǎi or first-tone qiān. Before fourth-tone 件, as in 一件, it is normally pronounced yí. This is the same spelling-versus-speech distinction introduced earlier.

Try it: Read 76, 77 and 78, then explain why 105 and 150 are different.

Answer: 七十六、七十七、七十八. 一百零五 skips the tens; 一百五十 contains five tens.

2. Hear the unit in a price

The currency in these examples is 人民币 — Rénmínbì, abbreviated RMB. 元 — yuán is its main unit. 块 — kuài is a common spoken word for the same unit; it is not an additional amount.

Thus 1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen. 元 and 角 are also valid in speech. 块 and 毛 give you useful conversational alternatives, not a rule that formal unit names are wrong.

In 三块五, the final 五 means five mao, so the amount is 3 + 5 × 0.10 = 3.50 yuan. It does not mean five fen or fifty yuan. What is omitted is the word 毛. The five itself remains. For small fractional amounts, use explicit units rather than guessing from an unfamiliar shortened form.

一共 — yīgòng means altogether/in total. Its 一 is normally pronounced yí before gòng. 一共三十八块 asks for 38 yuan in total; 三十八块一个 means 38 yuan per item. Listen for whether the speaker gives a total or a unit price.

3. Choose what you are counting

For counted items such as books and apples, use number + classifier + noun. Compare 三本书, three books, with 三杯咖啡, three cups of coffee. The classifier tells you what counts as one unit.

个 is common, not universal. Learn useful noun–classifier pairs. Flatness or a handle can help you remember 张纸 or 把伞, but shape alone does not determine every classifier. Clothing also has different counting units: 一条裤子 — yī tiáo kùzi is a pair of trousers, while 一双鞋 — yī shuāng xié is a pair of shoes. 件 is the target for an individual shirt or the general expression 一件衣服.

Do not add an extra 个 to every number-plus-noun expression. You already know 三天, three days. For drinks, 两杯咖啡 counts cups; 两瓶水 counts bottles. Those packaging words already supply the unit.

Buying by weight

In the mainland market examples here, 一斤 — yī jīn is 500 grams and 一公斤 — yī gōngjīn is one kilogram. Thus 两斤 = 1,000 grams = 1 kilogram. The unit called 斤 differs across regions; the Taiwanese 台斤 is 600 grams. Confirm the local unit instead of carrying a 500-gram assumption everywhere.

苹果五块钱一斤。— Píngguǒ wǔ kuài qián yī jīn.
The apples are five yuan per jin.

At that unit price, two jin cost 2 × 5 = 10 yuan. It does not follow that two individual apples cost ten yuan: their weight has not been given. 钱 — qián means money and can follow 块 in these prices without adding another unit.

4. Ask, choose and respond

Keep these pairs distinct:

买 and 卖 share the syllable mai but differ in tone and written character. 买 has a third-tone base form, often low in connected speech; 卖 has a falling fourth tone. Listen to the contrast rather than forcing a full dip-and-rise into every 买.

For a straightforward price question, put the item first:

这个多少钱？— Zhège duōshao qián? — How much is this?
这件T恤多少钱？— Zhè jiàn T-xù duōshao qián? — How much is this T-shirt?

多少 — duōshao asks an amount; 多少钱 asks a price. T恤 — T-xù means T-shirt; the T is a letter name rather than a pinyin syllable. 件 can replace 个 when pointing to the shirt. With the item already identified, 多少钱？ alone works too.

To choose something, say 我要两本书 — Wǒ yào liǎng běn shū, I want two books, or 我买这个 — Wǒ mǎi zhège, I'll buy this one. Context supplies the intended timing; 买 does not change its form for the English future “will.”

我想看看那件T恤。— Wǒ xiǎng kànkan nà jiàn T-xù.
I'd like to take a look at that T-shirt.

看看 presents looking as a brief or limited action. Its second syllable is light. 看一下 — kàn yīxià is another way to say take a look; 看 alone can also be grammatical. The repeated form helps express the small request, but politeness also depends on the whole sentence and tone of voice.

太贵了！— Tài guì le! — Too expensive! is a strong reaction. The pattern 太…了 is not always a complaint: 太好了！— Tài hǎo le! means Great! For a cheaper alternative, try:

有便宜一点的吗？— Yǒu piányi yīdiǎn de ma?
Do you have any slightly cheaper ones?

一点 means a little; 的 lets the description refer to “ones” without repeating the noun. 一点儿 is also possible. This asks about a cheaper option, which could be a different item. It does not guarantee a discount on the first one. Where bargaining is appropriate, 可以便宜一点吗？ asks whether the price can be a little lower. Follow the seller's stated pricing policy.

5. Use the language in three short exchanges

At a fruit stall

Customer: 你好！苹果多少钱一斤？
Nǐ hǎo! Píngguǒ duōshao qián yī jīn?
Hello! How much are the apples per jin?

Seller: 五块钱一斤。
Wǔ kuài qián yī jīn.
Five yuan per jin.

Customer: 我要两斤。
Wǒ yào liǎng jīn.
I'd like two jin.

Seller: 好的，一共十块钱。
Hǎo de, yīgòng shí kuài qián.
Okay, ten yuan altogether.

Customer: 给你钱。谢谢！
Gěi nǐ qián. Xièxie!
Here's the money. Thank you!

Choosing a different shirt

Customer: 这件多少钱？
Zhè jiàn duōshao qián?
How much is this one?

Clerk: 这件八十块。
Zhè jiàn bāshí kuài.
This one is eighty yuan.

Customer: 有便宜一点的吗？
Yǒu piányi yīdiǎn de ma?
Do you have slightly cheaper ones?

Clerk: 那件五十块，也很好看。
Nà jiàn wǔshí kuài, yě hěn hǎokàn.
That one is fifty yuan and also looks nice.

Customer: 好，我买那件。
Hǎo, wǒ mǎi nà jiàn.
Okay, I'll buy that one.

The customer chooses a different shirt costing 30 yuan less. The dialogue does not say the original shirt's price changed. As in earlier lessons, an unstressed 很 in 很好看 often supports a plain description rather than a strongly emphasized “very.”

At a café

Server: 您要喝什么？
Nín yào hē shénme?
What would you like to drink?

Customer: 请给我一杯咖啡和一杯茶。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yī bēi kāfēi hé yī bēi chá.
One coffee and one tea, please.

Server: 好的，一共三十五块。
Hǎo de, yīgòng sānshíwǔ kuài.
Okay, thirty-five yuan altogether.

Customer: 可以用微信支付吗？
Kěyǐ yòng Wēixìn zhīfù ma?
Can I pay with WeChat?

Server: 可以，请扫这里。
Kěyǐ, qǐng sǎo zhèlǐ.
Yes, please scan here.

喝 — hē means drink; 咖啡 — kāfēi is coffee and 茶 — chá is tea. 可以 — kěyǐ asks permission or possibility; 用 — yòng means use; 支付 — zhīfù means pay. In this fictional checkout the seller indicates a payment code to 扫 — sǎo, scan. Ask about the available method; this exchange is not a promise that every merchant or visitor account supports it. 您 expresses respect; ordinary 你 is not inherently rude.

6. Plan a small shopping trip

Useful places are 书店 — shūdiàn, bookstore; 服装店 — fúzhuāngdiàn, clothing shop; 咖啡店 — kāfēidiàn, coffee shop; 水果店 — shuǐguǒdiàn, fruit shop; and 商场 — shāngchǎng, shopping mall. 店员 — diànyuán is a shop assistant. 东西 — dōngxi means things in 买东西, shop/buy things.

Use 先 — xiān, first; 然后 — ránhòu, then; and 最后 — zuìhòu, finally, to organize your trip:

我们先去书店，然后去服装店，最后去咖啡店。
Wǒmen xiān qù shūdiàn, ránhòu qù fúzhuāngdiàn, zuìhòu qù kāfēidiàn.
We go to the bookstore first, then the clothing shop, and finally the café.

Suppose you buy two books costing 30 and 50 yuan, the 50-yuan shirt, and drinks totaling 28 yuan. The total is 30 + 50 + 50 + 28 = 158 yuan. If your budget is 200 yuan, you have 200 − 158 = 42 yuan left. The café's 28-yuan total belongs to this exercise; the earlier café dialogue had a different 35-yuan bill.

我买了两本书。— Wǒ mǎi le liǎng běn shū. — I bought two books. Here 了 presents the buying as a completed event in the story. It is not a universal past-tense ending. 我很高兴 or 我很开心 can express being happy about the purchase; neither phrase is an amount of money.

Check yourself

1. Say 200 using both accepted 百 forms.
2. Explain the difference between 五块五 and 五块零五分.
3. Order three apples and two books, counting individual items.
4. Ask whether the shop has slightly cheaper shirts, with the noun already understood.
5. A mainland stall charges three yuan per jin. What do two jin cost, and how many grams is that?
6. Describe a fictional shopping trip with 先、然后、最后 and give a checked total.

Possible answers: 1. 二百 / 两百; 2. ¥5.50 versus ¥5.05; 3. 我要三个苹果和两本书; 4. 有便宜一点的吗？; 5. 6 yuan for 1,000 grams. For your own trip, check both quantity and unit before adding the prices.

These are practical foundation skills. For an HSK sitting, check the official test resources for your test's current syllabus. Next, use the shop names to ask where places are and follow a route.