{"id":9821,"date":"2014-03-12T06:03:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T10:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=9821"},"modified":"2017-08-08T15:36:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T19:36:07","slug":"how-to-shop-for-clothing-in-mandarin-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/how-to-shop-for-clothing-in-mandarin-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Shop for Clothing in Mandarin (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last post, we went over some useful language for clothes shopping in China<\/a>. Now that you know a bunch of clothing related vocabulary, a few important measure words, and some common questions\/answers, it’s time to bargain a bit, pay up, and get home to try on your new fly gear! Let’s get started…<\/p>\n

How much is it?<\/h2>\n

No matter where you’re shopping or what you’re shopping for, this question is bound to come up. Well, let’s start with the most basic form of the question:<\/p>\n

How much? (\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\uff1f- du\u014d sh\u01ceo qi\u00e1n)<\/h3>\n

That’s too easy, though! Show off your Chinese skills with a little more advanced form of the question:<\/p>\n

How much is this? (\u8fd9\u4e2a\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\uff1f- zh\u00e8 ge du\u014d sh\u01ceo qi\u00e1n)<\/h3>\n

As we discussed in the last post, \u4e2a is just a catch-all measure word. If you’re not sure which word to use, it’s fine to just use \u4e2a all the time. However, this shows your Chinese skills are a bit lackluster. Practice using the correct measure word and you can be on your way to speaking more fluently:<\/p>\n

How much is this skirt?<\/h3>\n

(\u8fd9\u4ef6\u88d9\u5b50\u591a\u5c11\u94b1? – zh\u00e8 ji\u00e0n q\u00fan zi du\u014d sh\u01ceo qi\u00e1n)<\/h3>\n

With better Chinese language skills, you’re sure to get a better price! I’ve even been told by one vendor in a clothing market, “You only got this price because you spoke Chinese! If you didn’t, the price would be double!” Don’t be a dumb \u8001\u5916 and do everything in English – the shopkeepers appreciate it if you speak their language, even if you aren’t very good at it. Still, you might not always agree with the price…<\/p>\n

It’s too expensive!<\/h2>\n

Don’t be surprised when shopping in clothing markets if you are quoted prices that seem way too high. Plenty of naive foreigners take the first price offered every single day, so of course the local vendors are going to start off with an outrageous price; after all, what do they have to lose? There’s one phrase that you’ll need to know in this situation:<\/p>\n

It’s too expensive! (\u592a\u8d35\u4e86 – t\u00e0i gu\u00ec le)<\/h3>\n

Actually, this is a very useful Chinese grammar point. The expression \u592a + adj. + \u4e86 can be used in so many ways. Here are a few more examples:<\/p>\n

It’s too small! (\u592a\u5c0f\u4e86 – t\u00e0i xi\u01ceo le)<\/h3>\n

It’s too big! (\u592a\u5927\u4e86 – t\u00e0i d\u00e0 le)<\/h3>\n

It’s too hot! (\u592a\u70ed\u4e86 – t\u00e0i r\u00e8 le)<\/h3>\n

They’re too long! \u592a\u957f\u4e86 – t\u00e0i ch\u00e1ng le)<\/h3>\n