HSK 1Lesson 17
In this lesson, you shop for clothes and fruit. You ask prices, answer with everyday money words, use larger numbers, and talk about clothing items and fruit by weight.
You will learn to ask and answer prices in simple shopping scenes, choose what to buy, and use money words with clothing and fruit.
Ask prices, buy or sell items, confirm correctness, and talk about clothes.
Part 1 · 15 new words
Contains 5 words
money
yuan
colloquial yuan
hundred
thousand
Contains 3 words
cheap
expensive
Contains 4 words
buy
sell
Contains 3 words
clothes
wear
Part 2 · 12 phrases
多少钱
How much?
这件衣服多少钱
How much is this piece of clothing?
一千元
One thousand yuan.
一百块
One hundred kuai.
太贵了
Too expensive.
很便宜
Very cheap.
商店卖衣服
The store sells clothes.
我买衣服
I buy clothes.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
In a clothing shop, a customer asks the price of one piece of clothing, asks for a lower price, and decides to buy it.
买衣服的人Customer
请问，这件衣服多少钱？
Excuse me, how much is this piece of clothing?
售货员Shop assistant
一百块钱。
One hundred kuai.
买衣服的人Customer
Part 4 · 2 points
Money and price expressions
Use 多少钱duōshao qián after an item or measure to ask the price. In answers, choose one money ending: 块钱kuài qián, 块kuài, or 元yuán.
Ask an item's price
Asks how much one item costs.
correct; right
shop assistant
jin; half-kilogram measure
measure word for clothes
我要买这件
I want to buy this one.
好的
Okay.
对
Right / Correct.
这件衣服
This piece of clothing.
太贵了。八十元，我买这件，可以吗？
That is too expensive. Eighty yuan, and I will buy this one. Is that okay?
售货员Shop assistant
可以，八十元。
Okay, eighty yuan.
At a fruit stand, a customer asks the price of apples by weight and buys one jin.
买水果的人Customer
请问，苹果多少钱一斤？
How much are apples per jin?
卖苹果的人Apple seller
十块钱一斤。
Ten kuai per jin.
买水果的人Customer
好，我买一斤。
Okay, I will buy one jin.
卖苹果的人Apple seller
好，一斤十块钱。
Okay, one jin is ten kuai.
In a clothing shop, two friends compare an expensive piece of clothing with a cheaper one and decide what to buy.
朋友一Friend 1
这件衣服一千元。
This piece of clothing is one thousand yuan.
朋友二Friend 2
一千元？太贵了。
One thousand yuan? That is too expensive.
朋友一Friend 1
那件一百块，很便宜。
That one is one hundred kuai. It is cheap.
朋友二Friend 2
好，我买那件。
Okay, I will buy that one.
A customer asks whether one piece of clothing is for sale, hears the price, and buys it.
买衣服的人Customer
这件衣服卖吗？
Is this piece of clothing for sale?
售货员Shop assistant
卖，一百块钱。
Yes, for one hundred kuai.
买衣服的人Customer
好，我买这件。
Okay, I will buy this one.
售货员Shop assistant
好，一百块钱。
Okay, one hundred kuai.
State a price
Answers with a number and money word.
一百块钱yì bǎi kuài qián is a spoken price answer.
State a unit price
Gives the price for one unit of weight.
十块钱一斤shí kuài qián yì jīn means ten kuai for one jin.
In sentences
Price question
这件衣服多少钱？
How much is this piece of clothing?
Place 多少钱duōshao qián after the item.
Everyday spoken price
一百块钱
one hundred kuai
The money word follows the whole number.
Standard yuan price
八十元
eighty yuan
元yuán comes after the number.
Unit price by weight
十块钱一斤
ten kuai per jin
The unit comes after the price.
八十元可以。
Eighty yuan is okay.
Use 多少钱duōshao qián when you want to know how much something costs. First name or point to the item, then add 多少钱duōshao qián. To answer, put the number before the money word: 一百块钱yì bǎi kuài qián, 八十元bāshí yuán, or 十块钱一斤shí kuài qián yì jīn. 块钱kuài qián is common in everyday speech; 元yuán is the standard currency word. In short model answers for this lesson, use 元yuán by itself rather than adding 钱qián after it.
Number building to 1000
Build 10–19 with 十shí first, 20–99 with a digit before 十shí, and exact 100 or 1000 with 一百yì bǎi or 一千yì qiān. Put the money word after the complete number.
Build 10 through 19
Starts with ten and adds a ones digit when needed.
十一shíyī is 11: 十shí plus 一yī.
Build the other tens
Uses a tens digit, 十shí, and an optional ones digit.
三十三sānshísān is 33. 八十bāshí is 80, so it has no final ones digit.
Use the exact hundred or thousand
Builds the exact values 100 and 1000 before adding a money word.
一千元yì qiān yuán builds 1000 first, then adds 元yuán.
In sentences
Eleven-kuai price
十一块
eleven kuai
十一shíyī is 十shí plus the ones digit 一yī.
Twenty-one-kuai price
二十一块
twenty-one kuai
二十一èrshíyī is 二èr tens plus 一yī.
Thirty-three-kuai price
三十三块
thirty-three kuai
三十三sānshísān uses 三sān before and after 十shí: three tens and three ones.
Exact-tens price
八十元
Start with the tens. 十shí is 10, and 十一shíyī is 11: for 10–19, say 十shí and then the ones digit when there is one. For 20–99, put the tens digit before 十shí, then add the ones digit when needed: 二十一èrshíyī, ‘21,’ 三十三sānshísān, ‘33,’ and 八十bāshí, ‘80.’ This lets you transfer the pattern to a new amount such as 四十五sìshíwǔ, ‘45.’
For the exact larger values taught here, use 一百yì bǎi, ‘100,’ and 一千yì qiān, ‘1000.’ Then add the money word after the whole amount: 三十三块sānshísān kuài,
eighty yuan
八十bāshí is eight tens, with no ones digit after 十shí.
Hundred price
一百块
one hundred kuai
百bǎi marks the hundred place.
Hundred price with 钱
一百块钱
one hundred kuai
块钱kuài qián comes after the full hundred amount.
Thousand price
一千元
one thousand yuan
千qiān marks the thousand place.
这件衣服一千元。
This piece of clothing is one thousand yuan.
那件一百块，很便宜。
That one is one hundred kuai. It is cheap.
四十五块。
Forty-five kuai.
Dialogue 3 · Choosing the Cheaper Piece · Turn 1
Choosing the Cheaper Piece, friend states the expensive price
这件衣服一千元。
This piece of clothing is one thousand yuan.
一number千place value元money word
Why it matters · A uses 一千元yì qiān yuán to mark a very high clothing price.
