Introduction
Chinese money has three units, and each one comes in two versions: the word people say and the word that gets printed. 块 (kuài)、毛 (máo)、分 (fēn) is what you will hear in a shop; 元 (yuán)、角 (jiǎo)、分 (fēn) is what you will read on the price tag.
Overview
Structure: Number + 块 (kuài) + Number + 毛 (máo)
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Number + 块 | 十块钱 (shí kuài qián) | ten yuan |
| Number + 块 + Number + 毛 | 三十五块五毛 (sānshíwǔ kuài wǔ máo) | 35.50 |
| Number + 毛 | 五毛钱 (wǔ máo qián) | fifty cents |
| 多少钱 | 这个多少钱？(Zhège duōshao qián?) | How much is this? |
| 一共 + Number + 块 | 一共三十块。(Yígòng sānshí kuài.) | Thirty yuan altogether. |
块 (kuài) in the shop, 元 (yuán) on the label:
- Spoken: 三十五块五毛 (sānshíwǔ kuài wǔ máo) — thirty-five fifty.
- Written: 三十五元五角 (sānshíwǔ yuán wǔ jiǎo) — the same amount on a receipt.
- One 块 (kuài) is ten 毛 (máo) is a hundred 分 (fēn) — pounds and pence, exactly.
- The last unit is normally dropped: 三十五块五 (sānshíwǔ kuài wǔ) is enough, because everyone knows the 五 means 毛.
Examples
这个多少钱？
Zhège duōshao qián?
How much is this?
十块钱。
Shí kuài qián.
Ten yuan.
一共三十五块五。
Yígòng sānshíwǔ kuài wǔ.
Thirty-five fifty altogether.
这本书二十块。
Zhè běn shū èrshí kuài.
This book is twenty yuan.
两块五毛钱。
Liǎng kuài wǔ máo qián.
Two yuan fifty.
太贵了，便宜一点儿吧。
Tài guì le, piányi yìdiǎnr ba.
That's too expensive — a bit cheaper, please.
Usage Notes
- 钱 (qián) — money — is optional at the end: 十块 (shí kuài) and 十块钱 (shí kuài qián) are both correct.
- "Two" is 两 (liǎng) here as before every measure word: 两块 (liǎng kuài), never 二块 (èr kuài).
- A price sentence needs no verb: 这本书二十块。(Zhè běn shū èrshí kuài.) — no 是 (shì), just like age and dates.
- 一 (yī) before 块 (kuài) becomes yí: 一块钱 (yí kuài qián).
- Three sentences will get you through any market: 这个多少钱？(Zhège duōshao qián?)，太贵了 (tài guì le)，便宜一点儿 (piányi yìdiǎnr).