Hold simple conversations using fluent language in the market context

Asking Prices at the Market

In this lesson, we learn how to ask about prices and buy items at a market in Chinese. This is very useful for everyday shopping in Tanzania, where you might visit local markets to buy food and other items.

Key Vocabulary

Here are the most important words for market conversations:

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
大米	dàmǐ	rice
钱	qián	money
公斤	gōngjīn	kilogram (kg)
多少	duōshao	how many / how much
老板	lǎobǎn	shopkeeper / boss
块	kuài	piece
瓶	píng	bottle
便宜	piányi	cheap
贵	guì	expensive

Numbers You Need to Know

When talking about prices in Tanzania (using Tanzanian shillings), you will use these numbers:

Number	Chinese
100	一百 (yìbǎi)
200	两百 (liǎngbǎi)
1,000	一千 (yìqiān)
2,000	两千 (liǎngqiān)
3,000	三千 (sānqiān)

How to Ask About Prices

To ask how much something costs, use this pattern:

东西 + 多少钱？ (How much is the thing?)

Here are some examples:

• 大米一公斤多少钱？ dàmǐ yì gōngjīn duōshao qián? "How much is one kilogram of rice?"

• 豆子一公斤多少钱？ dòuzi yì gōngjīn duōshao qián? "How much is one kilogram of beans?"

• 一块肥皂多少钱？ yí kuài féizào duōshao qián? "How much is one piece of soap?"

A Complete Market Conversation

Here is a dialogue between a child and a shopkeeper at the market:

A: 你好！大米一公斤多少钱？ Nǐ hǎo! Dàmǐ yì gōngjīn duōshao qián? "Hello! How much is one kilogram of rice?"

B: 你好！大米一公斤三千先令。 Nǐ hǎo! Dàmǐ yì gōngjīn sān qiān xiānlìng. "Hello! One kilogram of rice is 3,000 shillings."

A: 我要两公斤，一共多少钱？ Wǒ yào liǎng gōngjīn, yígòng duōshao qián? "I want two kilograms, how much in total?"

B: 六千先令。 Liù qiān xiānlìng. "6,000 shillings."

A: 好的，给你钱。 Hǎode, gěi nǐ qián. "Here is the money."

B: 谢谢！这是你的大米。 Xièxie! Zhè shì nǐ de dàmǐ. "Thank you! Here is your rice."

Buying Multiple Items

You can also ask if you need more items:

• 你还要什么？ (Nǐ hái yào shénme?) — "What else do you want?"
• 我要买饼干。 (Wǒ yǎo mǎi bǐnggān.) — "I want to buy cookies."

Example: A: 你还要什么？ Nǐ hái yào shénme? "What else do you want?"

B: 我还要一瓶水。 Wǒ hái yào yì píng shuǐ. "I also want one bottle of water."

Important Sentence Patterns

1. 我要 + quantity + item — "I want..."

   • 我要两公斤大米 — "I want two kilograms of rice"

2. 一共多少钱？ — "How much in total?"

   • Used to ask for the total price

3. 给 + 你/我 + 东西 — "Give me the item"

   • 给你钱 — "Here is the money for you"

Practice Dialogue

Try to understand this short dialogue:

Customer: 老板！芒果多少钱？ Shopkeeper: 芒果一千先令。 Customer: 我要三个，一共多少钱？ Shopkeeper: 三千先令。 Customer: 好的，给你钱。 Shopkeeper: 谢谢！给你芒果。

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Real-life application

In Tanzania, you can use these phrases when visiting local markets like Mwanza Central Market or ** Kariakoo** in Dar es Salaam. For example, if you want to buy 2 kilograms of rice at a local duka, you can ask in Chinese: "大米两公斤多少钱？" — and the shopkeeper might answer "五千先令" (5,000 shillings). This skill helps you communicate with Chinese tourists or business owners in Tanzania, and it is useful for small business owners who want to learn basic Chinese for trading.