KiVAKO: Chinese 2 and Chinese Characters 2, 5op
语法Grammar A: Asking "how much money" with 多少钱 (duōshao qián)
Subj. + 多少钱 ?
Examples
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多少 钱 ？How much?
Duōshao qián?
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你 的 手机 多少 钱 ? How much was your cell phone?
Nǐ de shǒujī duōshao qián
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我们 的 午饭 多少 钱？How much is our lunch?
Wǒmen de wǔfàn duōshao qián
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这 杯 咖啡 多少 钱？ How much for this cup of coffee?
Zhè bēi kāfēi duōshao qián
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这 件 衣服 多少 钱？How much is this clothing?
Zhè jiàn yīfu duōshao qián
Stating Quantities of Money
Structure
Chinese has a specific structure for talking about quantities for money:
Number + 块 + Number + 毛
Examples
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两 块 五 毛 liǎng kuài wǔ máo two kuai five mao (2.5)
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三 块 八 毛 sān kuài bā máo three kuai eight mao (3.8)
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十 块 两 毛 shí kuài liǎng máo ten kuai two mao (10.2)
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二十 三 块 八毛 èrshí-sān kuài bā máo Twenty-three kuai eight mao (23.8)
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五十 块 五 毛 wǔshí kuài wǔ máo fifty kuai five mao (50.5)
Note that "2.5 RMB" reads as 两块五 (liǎng kuài wǔ).
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二 块 五 èr kuài wǔ
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两 块 五 liǎng kuài wǔ two kuai five mao (2.5)
If the smaller units are only in tens, you can just say the number of tens. So "3.8 RMB" is 三块八 (sān kuài bā). This way of giving the price is normally only used for amounts under 100 RMB.
When the smallest unit is 2, it reads as 二 (èr) instead of 两 (liǎng).
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两 块 两 liǎng kuài liǎng
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两 块 二 liǎng kuài èr two kuai two mao (2.2)
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五 块 两 wǔ kuài liǎng
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五 块 二 wǔ kuài èr five kuai two mao (5.2)
The first number is the amount of whole RMB (or dollars etc.), and the second is the amount smaller units (e.g. cents). So "3.86 RMB" is
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三 块 八 毛 六sān kuài bā máo liùthree kuai eight mao six fen (3.86)
And if there's no smaller unit, e.g. "3 RMB," you can just say:
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三 块 sān kuài Three kuai
块 (kuài) is the more common, informal way to talk about money. More formally you can use 元 (yuán) in exactly the same way. This is similar to the difference between "dollars" and "bucks" in American English, or "pounds" and "quid" in British English. 块 (kuài) is appropriate in more situations than "bucks" or "quid," though.