Speak and Write Language Series
Unit II — 日常生活 · Unit II — Everyday Life
9

买东西

Volume I, Chapter 9: Shopping and Quantities · Speak and Write Mandarin Chinese: Foundations of Practical Communication

Chapter Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. Ask how much something costs using 多少钱.
  2. Understand and use 块, 毛, and 分 to talk about prices.
  3. Use 个 and a small set of other measure words to count everyday items.
  4. Use 太...了 to react to a price or quality.
  5. Apply correct tone sandhi for 一 when it comes before a measure word.
  6. Complete a simple shopping exchange in speech and in writing.

Communication Scenario

After meeting up at the library in Chapter 8, 莎拉, 大卫, and 小林 stop by a small shop near school. They need to ask what things cost, say how many of something they want, and react to prices.

  1. This chapter introduces 多少钱, 块/毛/分, 个 and a small set of measure words, and 太...了.
  2. Everything in this chapter builds on the location, existence, and locative systems from Chapter 8, along with the family and quantity vocabulary from Chapter 3.

Where This Chapter Fits

Chapter 9 completes Unit II. It introduces one tightly related cluster of new material — money words, 多少钱, measure words, and 太...了 — while continuing to recycle 在, 有, and the locative phrases from Chapter 8.

Coming Into This Chapter

Location with 在, existence with 有, locative phrases 上面/里面/旁边, and the measure-word awareness first introduced with 几/多少 in Chapter 3.

New in This Chapter

多少钱 for asking price, 块/毛/分 for money, 个 and selected measure words for counting, and 太...了 for reacting to price or quality.

Looking Forward

Chapter 10 is the Unit II assessment. It reviews the systems from Chapters 6-9 — food and preferences, daily routines, location, and shopping — without introducing new grammar.

生词 — Core Vocabulary

Core Vocabulary

These are the productive words for this chapter. Each entry gives simplified characters, Pinyin with tone marks, part of speech, meaning, and an example.

ChinesePinyinPart/FunctionEnglishExample
买mǎiverbto buy我想买一本书。
东西dōngxinounthing(s); stuff我要买东西。
多少钱duōshao qiánphrasehow much money; how much does it cost这个多少钱？
钱qiánnounmoney我没有钱。
块kuàimeasure wordunit of money (colloquial "yuan")十块钱
毛máomeasure wordone-tenth of a 块 (colloquial "dime")五毛钱
分fēnmeasure wordone-hundredth of a 块 (colloquial "cent")两分钱
个gemeasure wordgeneral classifier for many nouns一个苹果
本běnmeasure wordclassifier for bound items such as books一本书
杯bēimeasure wordclassifier for cups/glasses of a drink一杯茶
苹果píngguǒnounapple这个苹果多少钱？
贵guìadjectiveexpensive这本书太贵了。
便宜piányiadjectivecheap; inexpensive那杯茶很便宜。
太...了tài...lepatterntoo (excessive degree)太贵了！

All items above are productive: you are expected to recognize, type, and use them in the tasks below. This chapter limits measure words to 个, 本, and 杯; additional measure words are introduced in later chapters as vocabulary domains expand.

Pronunciation Focus

9.1 一 sandhi before measure words

Pronunciation Focus — 一个, 一本, 一杯

一 is first tone (yī) when said alone or used for counting, as in 一，二，三. When 一 comes directly before a measure word followed by a fourth-tone syllable, such as 个 (a neutral-tone syllable historically derived from a fourth tone) or 杯 (bēi, first tone), the tone of 一 changes depending on what follows. In this chapter, focus on the pattern you will hear and produce most often: 一个 is pronounced yí ge, with 一 shifting to second tone before the neutral-toned 个. This is the same kind of predictable tone change you practiced with 不 in Chapter 8 (不在, bú zài).

9.2 Neutral tone in 便宜 and 东西

Pronunciation Focus — 便宜 and 东西

便宜 (piányi) and 东西 (dōngxi) both end in a light, unstressed neutral-tone syllable, the same pattern you practiced with 朋友 and 休息 in earlier chapters. Do not add a full tone to the second syllable of either word.

Continue to monitor third-tone sandhi in familiar words such as 你好 and 哪里, and 不 sandhi in negative sentences such as 不贵 (bú guì).

Grammar and Sentence Patterns

9.3 Asking price with 多少钱

Purpose: ask how much something costs.

Language Building Block — [Item] + 多少钱？
这个苹果多少钱？
多少钱 literally means "how much money," and it stays at the end of the sentence, in the position where the answer would go — the same question-word placement pattern you learned with 哪儿 in Chapter 8.
  • 这本书多少钱？ Zhè běn shū duōshao qián? How much is this book?
  • 一杯茶多少钱？ Yì bēi chá duōshao qián? How much is a cup of tea?

9.4 Talking about money: 块, 毛, 分

Purpose: state a price using Mandarin's spoken money units.

Language Building Block — [Number] + 块/毛/分 + (钱)
十块钱
块 is the largest and most common spoken unit; 毛 and 分 are smaller units used for prices with cents. 钱 may be added after the full amount but is often left out in casual speech once the amount is clear from context.
  • 这个苹果三块钱。 Zhège píngguǒ sān kuài qián. This apple is three kuai.
  • 一杯茶五块五毛钱。 Yì bēi chá wǔ kuài wǔ máo qián. A cup of tea is five kuai fifty cents.

This chapter uses only round, simple prices. Larger and more complex numbers are developed further in later chapters.

9.5 个 and measure words for counting

Purpose: count everyday items using the correct measure word between a number and a noun.

Language Building Block — [Number] + [Measure Word] + [Noun]
一个苹果
Mandarin nouns almost always require a measure word between a number and the noun; you cannot simply say "number + noun" as in English. 个 is the most common, general-purpose measure word and works safely with many nouns, including 苹果. 本 is used specifically for bound printed items like 书, and 杯 is used for a cup or glass of a drink like 茶.
  • 我想买两个苹果。 Wǒ xiǎng mǎi liǎng ge píngguǒ. I want to buy two apples.
  • 他买了一本书。 Tā mǎile yì běn shū. He bought a book.

Recall from Chapter 3 that 两, not 二, is used directly before a measure word when counting two of something.

9.6 太...了 for excessive degree

Purpose: react to something as too much of a quality — too expensive, too big, too small, and so on.

Language Building Block — 太 + [Adjective] + 了
太贵了！
太...了 wraps around an adjective to show that something exceeds a reasonable or expected degree. This is different from the neutral, moderate 很 you learned for ordinary adjectival predicates: 很贵 simply describes something as expensive, while 太贵了 expresses a reaction that the price is excessive.
  • 这本书太贵了！ Zhè běn shū tài guì le! This book is too expensive!
  • 那个茶馆太远了。 Nàge cháguǎn tài yuǎn le. That teahouse is too far.

Model Dialogue

Setting: 莎拉 and 小林 stop at a small shop near the school to buy something to eat.

莎拉 老板，这个苹果多少钱？ Lǎobǎn, zhège píngguǒ duōshao qián? Boss, how much is this apple?
老板 三块钱一个。 Sān kuài qián yí ge. Three kuai each.
莎拉 太贵了！便宜一点儿吧。 Tài guì le! Piányi yìdiǎnr ba. Too expensive! Make it a bit cheaper, please.
老板 好，两块五一个。你要几个？ Hǎo, liǎng kuài wǔ yí ge. Nǐ yào jǐ ge? Okay, two-fifty each. How many do you want?
莎拉 我要两个。小林，你也想买东西吗？ Wǒ yào liǎng ge. Xiǎo Lín, nǐ yě xiǎng mǎi dōngxi ma? I want two. Xiao Lin, do you also want to buy something?
小林 我想买一杯茶。一杯多少钱？ Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì bēi chá. Yì bēi duōshao qián? I want to buy a cup of tea. How much is a cup?
老板 五块钱，不贵。 Wǔ kuài qián, bú guì. Five kuai, not expensive.

理解问题 — Comprehension questions:

  1. 苹果一开始多少钱一个？后来呢？ (How much was the apple at first? And afterward?)
  2. 小林想买什么？多少钱？ (What does Xiao Lin want to buy? How much is it?)

Listening Practice

Ask your instructor, a study partner, or a fluent Mandarin speaker to read the passage below aloud twice, at a natural pace. Complete the table using only what you have studied through Chapter 9.

If no speaker is available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use. Read the passage aloud yourself, slowly at first, then at a more natural pace. Any spoken model should be verified by a fluent Mandarin speaker before being treated as a pronunciation standard.

在商店里 — At the shop:
"今天我在学校旁边的商店买东西。我买了两个苹果，一个三块钱，两个一共六块钱。我也想买一本书，可是书太贵了，我没有买。我朋友买了一杯茶，五块钱，不贵。"

听力任务 — Listening task:

QuestionAnswer
一个苹果多少钱？两个呢？ (How much is one apple? Two?)______
说话人为什么没有买书？ (Why didn't the speaker buy the book?)______
朋友买了什么？多少钱？ (What did the friend buy? How much?)______

Reading Practice

Read the short note below and answer the comprehension questions.

我的购物单 — My Shopping List
大家好！我是大卫。今天我去学校旁边的商店买东西。我买了三个苹果，一共九块钱。商店里的书都太贵了，一本书要三十块钱，所以我没有买。我也买了一杯茶，茶不贵，只要五块钱。我觉得这个商店的水果很便宜，可是书很贵。
Hello everyone! I am David. Today I went to the shop next to school to buy things. I bought three apples, nine kuai in total. The books in the shop were all too expensive — one book cost thirty kuai — so I didn't buy one. I also bought a cup of tea; the tea wasn't expensive, only five kuai. I think this shop's fruit is very cheap, but its books are expensive.

理解问题 — Comprehension questions:

  1. 大卫买了几个苹果？一共多少钱？ (How many apples did David buy? How much in total?)
  2. 大卫为什么没有买书？ (Why didn't David buy a book?)

Writing Workshop

Write a short note describing a shopping trip, following the models above. Use only vocabulary, characters, and grammar from Chapters 1-9.

写作任务 — Writing task: Write five or six sentences in simplified characters, typing them with Pinyin input if possible, or copying/handwriting the characters you have already been assigned for handwriting. Your note must include:

  1. A price question. Use 多少钱 to ask what something costs.
  2. A stated price. Use 块, and 毛 if you like, to state a price.
  3. A counted item. Use a number, a measure word (个, 本, or 杯), and a noun.
  4. A reaction with 太...了. React to a price or quality as excessive.

修改清单 — Editing checklist:

  • 多少钱 stays at the end of the sentence, in the position where the answer would go.
  • A measure word appears between every number and its noun.
  • 两, not 二, is used directly before a measure word.
  • 太...了 wraps around the adjective, not just before it.
  • A Chinese period (。) or question mark (？) ends each sentence.

Speaking Practice

控制性练习 — Controlled practice: reading the model dialogue aloud

Read the model dialogue above aloud twice: once slowly, sounding out each tone, and once at a natural pace. Pay attention to the 一 sandhi in 一个 and the neutral tone in 便宜.

交际任务 — Communicative task: shopping role-play

With a partner, take turns playing shopkeeper and customer. Ask the price of three items using measure words, react to at least one price with 太...了, and decide what to buy.

独立练习 — Solo alternative

Record yourself describing a short shopping trip: what you looked at, what it cost, how many you wanted, and whether you thought the price was reasonable. Listen back and check your 一 sandhi and measure-word choice.

Culture and Communication

Culture in Context — Bargaining

In many small shops and markets, especially those without fixed price tags, some light bargaining over price is common and expected, while fixed-price stores and chain retailers generally do not bargain. Practice varies by shop type, city, and region, so it is worth observing local norms rather than assuming one rule applies everywhere.

Culture in Context — Addressing a shopkeeper

老板 (literally "boss") is a common, friendly way to address a shopkeeper directly, regardless of the size of the business. This is different from more formal professional titles you will learn in later chapters.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Common Mistake — Leaving out the measure word

Error: Saying *我想买两苹果。 by analogy with English "two apples."

Correction: Mandarin requires a measure word between a number and a noun: 我想买两个苹果。 Review Grammar 9.5.

Common Mistake — Using 二 before a measure word

Error: Saying *二个苹果.

Correction: Use 两, not 二, directly before a measure word: 两个苹果. Review Grammar 9.5.

Common Mistake — Dropping 了 in 太...了

Error: Saying *太贵 to mean "too expensive."

Correction: The pattern normally wraps all the way around the adjective: 太贵了. Review Grammar 9.6.

Chapter Review

部分 A — 理解 (Comprehension)

1. Return to the model dialogue and answer in English:

  1. What was the apple's price before and after Sarah asked for a discount?
  2. What does Xiao Lin buy, and how much does it cost?

部分 B — 语法 (Grammar)

1. Fill in the blank with the correct measure word:

  1. 一___书 (book)
  2. 两___苹果 (apples)
  3. 一___茶 (cup of tea)

2. Correct the error: *我想买二个苹果。

部分 C — 阅读 (Reading)

1. Return to David's note above and answer:

  1. 大卫觉得商店的水果怎么样？书呢？ (What does David think of the shop's fruit? What about the books?)

部分 D — 写作 (Writing)

1. Write five or six sentences describing a shopping trip, following the Writing Workshop steps above.

部分 E — 口语 (Speaking)

1. Without reading from a script, act out a shopping exchange with a partner, asking about at least two different items.

Unit II Recognition Check

Say each of the following aloud and confirm accurate tones, including 一 sandhi where relevant: 这个多少钱, 一个苹果三块钱, 太贵了, 我想买两本书. If any of these feel uncertain, review this chapter before moving on to Chapter 10.

Practical Performance Task

Chapter 9 Performance Task

A Shopping Trip

Complete the following four connected tasks in order, exactly as Sarah and 小林 do above.

  1. Listen to the shopping passage, or a similar passage read by your instructor or partner, and complete the listening table above.
  2. Read David's shopping note and answer the comprehension questions.
  3. Write your own shopping note, following the Writing Workshop steps and editing checklist.
  4. Speak a complete shopping exchange with a partner, recording, or instructor, without reading from a script.
CriterionWhat is assessed
Asking price多少钱 is used correctly and stays in the answer position.
Stating price块/毛 are used correctly to state simple prices.
Measure words个, 本, and 杯 are matched correctly to their nouns.
太...了The pattern is used to react appropriately to a price or quality.
Pronunciation一 sandhi before measure words is produced with reasonable, intelligible accuracy.

This task assesses only what Chapters 1-9 have taught. It does not require anything beyond the systems scheduled for this point in Unit II.

Answer Key

Model Dialogue — Comprehension

  1. The apple was first three kuai, then reduced to two-fifty after Sarah asked for a lower price.
  2. Xiao Lin buys a cup of tea for five kuai.

Listening

  • One apple is three kuai; two apples are six kuai in total.
  • The speaker didn't buy the book because it was too expensive.
  • The friend bought a cup of tea for five kuai.

Reading — Comprehension

  1. David bought three apples for nine kuai in total.
  2. He didn't buy a book because the books were too expensive (thirty kuai).

Chapter Review — 部分 B

  1. (a) 一本书 (b) 两个苹果 (c) 一杯茶
  2. 我想买两个苹果。

Unit II Recognition Check — Correct answers

这个多少钱 (zhège duōshao qián); 一个苹果三块钱 (yí ge píngguǒ sān kuài qián); 太贵了 (tài guì le); 我想买两本书 (wǒ xiǎng mǎi liǎng běn shū).

Looking Ahead

现在你会做什么 — What you can do now

You can now ask how much something costs with 多少钱, talk about prices using 块/毛/分, count everyday items with 个, 本, and 杯, and react to a price or quality using 太...了.

继续前进：第十课 — Continuing on: Chapter 10

Chapter 10, 单元二综合任务：一天的生活, is the Unit II integrated assessment. It reviews everything from Chapters 1-9 — identity, family, time, food, routines, location, and shopping — without introducing new grammar.