Day 18: Shopping
Three things today that catch everybody.
★ 有点儿 and 一点儿 both mean "a bit" and they are not interchangeable — one complains, one requests (section 2). ⚠️ 买 mǎi (buy) and 卖 mài (sell) differ only by tone — one of the few places where getting a tone wrong genuinely reverses the meaning. ★ 八折 does not mean 80% off. It means you pay 80% — a 20% discount (section 5).
1. The basics
| 我想买… | I'd like to buy… |
|---|---|
| 有没有…? | Do you have…? |
| 多少钱? | How much? |
| ★ 我只是看看。 | I'm just looking |
| 这个怎么卖? | How much is this? |
| 我要这个。 | I'll take this one |
| 就这些。 | That's all |
⚠️★ 买 vs 卖
| 买 mǎi | ★ 3rd tone | to buy |
|---|---|---|
| 卖 mài | ★ 4th tone | to sell |
★ Same initial, same final, opposite meanings. The characters differ by one stroke (卖 has 十 on top), and only the tone separates them in speech.
我买这个。 — I'm buying this.你们卖不卖? — Do you sell it?这个怎么卖? — How is this sold? = how much is it? ★ a very common way to ask.
⚠️ If you have been treating tones as optional, this is the pair that proves they are not. Say them ten times: mǎi / mài / mǎi / mài.
2. ★★ 有点儿 vs 一点儿
### 有点儿 + adjective = "a bit too ~" — ★ a COMPLAINT, and it goes BEFORE### adjective + 一点儿 = "a bit more ~" — ★ a REQUEST, and it goes AFTER
| 有点儿贵。 | It's a bit expensive | ★ complaining |
|---|---|---|
| 便宜一点儿。 | A bit cheaper, please | ★ requesting |
| 有点儿大。 | It's a bit big | complaining |
| 小一点儿。 | A bit smaller | requesting |
| 有点儿辣。 | It's a bit spicy | complaining |
| 辣一点儿。 | Make it a bit spicier | requesting |
★ Look at 有点儿贵 and 便宜一点儿 together. They are the two halves of a bargaining exchange: "It's a bit expensive." → "Make it a bit cheaper."
★ The memory hook: 有点儿 comes first and complains. 一点儿 comes last and asks.
⚠️ 有点儿 is almost always negative. 有点儿好 is odd — you do not complain that something is a bit good. For positive things use 很 or 挺…的.
(In the south and in writing, 儿 is often dropped: 有点 and 一点. Same words.)
3. ★ Verb reduplication — softening
### Repeat a verb, or add 一下, and it becomes brief and casual.
| Plain | Softened |
|---|---|
| 看 look | 看看 / 看一下 — have a look |
| 试 try | ★ 试试 / 试一下 — give it a try |
| 等 wait | 等等 / 等一下 — hang on |
| 想 think | 想想 — think about it |
| 听 listen | 听听 — have a listen |
★ This is the Chinese equivalent of "have a quick look" or "just try it" — it makes any request lighter and less demanding, and it is used constantly.
我看看。 — Let me have a look.可以试试吗? — ★ Can I try it on?等一下! — Hang on a second!我想想。 — Let me think about it.
⚠️ ★ The second syllable goes neutral — 看kan, 试shi — light and quick.
4. Sizes and colours
| 大号 | large | 中号 | medium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 小号 | small | 尺码 / 号 | size |
| 有大一点儿的吗? | ★ Do you have a bigger one? |
|---|---|
| 有小一点儿的吗? | A smaller one? |
| 可以试试吗? | Can I try it on? |
| 有点儿小。 | It's a bit small |
★ 的 turns the description into a noun (Day 10) — 大一点儿的 = "a bigger one". Same trick as Korean's 큰 거.
Colours
红色 (red) · 蓝色 (blue) · 黑色 (black) · 白色 (white) · 黄色 (yellow) · 绿色 (green) · 灰色 (grey)
有黑色的吗? — Do you have it in black?有别的颜色吗? — Do you have another colour?
5. ★★ Bargaining, and the discount trap
Bargaining
⚠️ Only at markets, street stalls and tourist areas — never in shops, supermarkets, chains or malls, where prices are fixed and asking is simply awkward.
| 太贵了! | Too expensive! |
|---|---|
| 有点儿贵。 | It's a bit expensive |
| 便宜一点儿吧。 | A bit cheaper, please |
| 能不能便宜点儿? | Could you make it cheaper? |
| 最低多少? | What's your lowest? |
| 算了,我再看看。 | ★ Never mind, I'll look around |
★ 算了,我再看看 is the most effective thing on this list — walking away, politely. It very often produces a better price before you reach the door.
⚠️★ 打折 — Chinese counts what you PAY
### 八折 = you pay 80% = ★ 20% OFF.
| Sign | You pay | = discount |
|---|---|---|
| 九折 | 90% | 10% off |
| 八折 | 80% | ★ 20% off |
| 七五折 | 75% | 25% off |
| 五折 | 50% | half price |
| 三折 | 30% | ★ 70% off |
★ This is the exact opposite of the English convention, and it is on every shop window in China. 打折 dǎzhé = "to discount"; 打八折 = to apply the 80% rate.
⚠️ 三折 looks like a small discount and is a huge one. Read the number as what remains, not as what comes off.
Paying and after
| 可以刷卡吗? / 可以扫码吗? | Card? / QR? |
|---|---|
| 要发票吗? | Do you want a receipt? |
| 可以退吗? | Can I return it? |
| 可以换吗? | Can I exchange it? |
| 要袋子吗? | Do you want a bag? |
6. Dialogue
老板: 你好,想买点儿什么?Alex: 我只是看看。… 这件衣服怎么卖?老板: 三百块。Alex: 三百? 有点儿贵。便宜一点儿吧。老板: 那… 两百八。Alex: 能不能再便宜点儿? 两百怎么样?老板: 两百不行。两百五,最低了。Alex: 我想想… 可以试试吗?老板: 当然,那边。Alex: (试完) 有点儿小。有大一点儿的吗?老板: 有,这件。还有黑色的。Alex: 黑色好。两百二怎么样?老板: 算了,两百三,拿走吧。Alex: 好! 可以扫码吗?老板: 可以。
★ 有点儿贵 → 便宜一点儿 and 有点儿小 → 大一点儿的 — ★ both pairs, twice each, exactly as §2 describes.★ 这个怎么卖 (4th tone — sell) while Alex is 买ing (3rd).★ And 我想想 and 试试 — reduplication softening both requests.
7. Exercises
A. ⚠️★ 买 or 卖?
- I want to buy this. 2. Do you sell it? 3. How much is this? (how is it sold)
B. ★★ 有点儿 or 一点儿?
- It's a bit expensive. → ___贵
- A bit cheaper, please. → 便宜___
- It's a bit small. → ___小
- A bit bigger. → 大___
- It's a bit spicy. → ___辣
- Make it spicier. → 辣___
C. ★ Soften it.
- 看 → have a look 2. 试 → give it a try 3. 等 → hang on 4. 想 → let me think
D. Ask for it.
- Do you have a bigger one? 2. Do you have it in black?
- Do you have another colour? 4. Can I try it on?
E. ⚠️★ How much off?
- 九折 2. 八折 3. 五折 4. 三折
F. What do you say?
- You're just looking. 2. It's too expensive. 3. What's your lowest?
- Never mind, I'll look around. 5. Can I pay by QR?
G. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 贵有点儿。
- 一点儿便宜。
- (in a supermarket) 便宜一点儿吧。
- 八折 = 80% off?
Answers
A. 1. 我想买这个。 2. 你们卖不卖? 3. 这个怎么卖? B. 1. 有点儿贵 2. 便宜一点儿 3. 有点儿小 4. 大一点儿 5. 有点儿辣 6. 辣一点儿 C. 1. 看看 / 看一下 2. 试试 / 试一下 3. 等等 / 等一下 4. 想想 D. 1. 有大一点儿的吗? 2. 有黑色的吗? 3. 有别的颜色吗? 4. 可以试试吗? E. 1. 10% off 2. ★ 20% off 3. half price 4. ★ 70% off F. 1. 我只是看看。 2. 太贵了! 3. 最低多少? 4. 算了,我再看看。 5. 可以扫码吗? G. 1. 有点儿贵 — 有点儿 goes first 2. 便宜一点儿 — 一点儿 goes last 3. ⚠️ Don't — fixed prices 4. No — you pay 80%, so it's 20% off
8. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 这个怎么卖? — How much is this?
- 我只是看看。 — I'm just looking
- 有点儿贵。 — It's a bit expensive
- 便宜一点儿吧。 — A bit cheaper, please
- 能不能再便宜点儿? — Could you go a bit lower?
- 可以试试吗? — Can I try it on?
- 有大一点儿的吗? — Do you have a bigger one?
- 有黑色的吗? — Do you have it in black?
- 算了,我再看看。 — Never mind, I'll look around
- 可以扫码吗? — Can I pay by QR code?
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 2 (有点儿/一点儿), section 5 (打折) and section 8 → study language Chinese.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | The dialogue — bargaining is fast and the numbers move quickly |
| ✍️ Dictation | ★ 买 mǎi vs 卖 mài — pure tone, opposite meanings |
| 🗣 Shadowing | The pairs: 有点儿贵 / 便宜一点儿 · 有点儿小 / 大一点儿 |
| 🎭 Role-play | Today's key mission. Bargain for something. Complain, request, walk away, come back |
| 📖 Vocab | ★ 有点儿 / 一点儿 as one card with the rule, so they never separate |
★ Point at ten things at home and complain, then request — 有点儿大 … 小一点儿。 Three minutes, and it drills the pair that most learners never sort out.
Tomorrow: 能, 会, 可以, 想, 要 — the five words English collapses into "can" and "want".
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