.购物shopping-. Faire des achats

We have also learned the question words: 什么 shénme what, 谁shéi who, 几 jǐ how many. During the class exercises of the last four lessons we have learned how to say哪儿 nǎr where, 哪 nǎ which and expressions such as: 对不起 duìbuqǐ sorry and 不知道 bù zhīdào don’t know.

Basic expressions
We will learn some useful words and expressions used for shopping in China in this lesson. It is certainly desirable to learn how to bargain in a market in China.  

1.	zhè ge	这   个
	this one	this  GE

2.	nà ge	那   个
	that one	that  GE

3.	duōshǎo qián	多少         钱
	how much	how much (money)

It isn’t impolite in China if one says “I want …” and the word 要 want can be useful in making requests in China. Lets look at the following expressions. 

4.	wǒ yào zhè ge	我    要    这   个。
	I would like to have this one.	I     want  this GE

5.	wǒ bú yào nà ge	我  不   要      那   个。
	I wouldn’t like to have that one.	I    not   want  that GE

 

Let’s learn the following dialogue 1: 

a. 这   个   多少         钱？

    zhè  ge  duōshǎo     qián

    this GE  how much  money                      

   How much does this cost? (How much is this?)

b. 这   个   八   块       钱 。                  

    zhè  ge   bā   kuài     qián

   this  GE    8   KUAI  money                   

   This costs eight dollars. (This is eight dollars.)

a. 那   个   多少         钱？                   

    nà   ge    duōshǎo    qián

    that GE  how much  money                     

   How much does that cost? (How much is that?)

b. 那  个 九 块       钱 。                     

     nà ge  jiǔ kuài     qián

   that GE 9  KUAI  money                    

    That costs nine dollars.

Here are the new words used in this dialogue.  

这        zhè       this

那        nà         that

钱        qián      money     

块        kuài      kuai [a measure word for Chinese dollar]

八        bā        eight

九        jiǔ         nine

Read the following dialogue after me: 

a.   请   问， 这  个 多少        钱？

     qǐng     wèn, zhè ge duōshǎo     qián

please ask,  this GE how much money          

Excuse me, how much is this?

b.   这 个    八 块      钱。            

      zhè ge    bā kuài    qián       

 this GE  8   KUAI dollar

This is eight dollars.

a.   那  个 多   少     钱？             

      nà  ge  duōshǎo    qián                   

     that GE how much money               

    How much is that?

b.  那  个  九 块      钱。             

     nà   ge  jiǔ kuài    qián         

     that GE 9  KUAI dollar

     That’s nine dollars.

b.  你  要      哪      个？                    

     nǐ   yào     nǎ      ge    

     you want  which GE                         

     Which one would you like to have?

a.   我  要   这 个。                           

      wǒ yào zhè ge                                       

      I want this GE.                              

     This one, please.

b.  那 个  呢？                             

     nà   ge   ne            

     that GE  how about                        

     What about that one?

a.  对不起，我 不  要。                     

     duìbuqǐ,    wǒ bú  yào       

      sorry       I     not want                        

     No, thanks.

Notes on expressions

Please note the following points.

1. There are no verbs in the above sentence. For instance 

     这   个 八 块     钱。 

          zhè ge  bā kuài   qián

          this GE 8 KUAI dollars.  

It is quite common to omit the verb element when a number refers to a topic, as in

     那   个 多少       钱？

          nà   ge duōshǎo    qián

          that GE how much money 

     那   个 九 块        钱 。

          nà    ge jiǔ kuài     qián

          that GE 9  KUAI dollars

2. There are two ways to pronounce 这zhè this, and there are two ways to pronounce 那nà that.

3. 不 not  first appeared in不知道 bùzhīdào don’t know in Lesson 4. The negation不bù not is placed before verbs, adjectives and adverbs as in 不好bùhǎo no good; 不是búshì it is not; 不要búyào don’t want. However, 不bù(bú) not cannot be placed before 有yǒu have. The negative form for 有yǒu have is 没有méiyǒu don’t have, as in

他 没有    哥哥

tā  méiyou  gēge

he not have elder brother 

He does not have (an) elder brother.

4. The tone for 不 bù not is changeable.  When it is followed by a third tone or a first tone, it changes into the fourth tone as in 对不起 duìbuqǐ sorry, 不知道bù zhīdào don’t know. When it is followed by a fourth tone, it changes into the second tone as in 不要 bú yào don’t want. 

5. 那个呢? Nà ge ne that GE NE how about that one? /what about that one? The question particle NE 呢ne how about can be placed after a pronoun or a noun to form a tag question. 

Part one: new words

1.	this
2.	that
3	How much or how many [the expected number is more than 10]
4.	money
5.	Chinese buck
6.	eight
7.	nine
8.	want
9.	not
10.	[question particle]

Part two: expressions

A	this  GE  how much  money	How much is this?
B	this  GE  eight  bucks	This costs eight bucks.
C	that  GE  how much  money	How much is that?
D	that  GE  nine  bucks	That one costs nine bucks.
E	I  want  this  GE	I want this.
F	I  not  want  that  GE	I don’t want that.

Part three: conversation

a.	please  ask,  this  GE  how much  money	Excuse me, how much is this?
b.	this  GE  eight  bucks	This costs eight bucks.
a.	that  GE  how much  money	How much is that?
b.	that  GE  nine  bucks	That one costs nine bucks.
b.	you  want  which  GE	Which one do you want?
a.	I  want  this  GE	I want this.
b.	that  GE  question particle	How about that one?
a.	sorry,  I  not  want	Sorry. I don’t want it.

phrases：

1-你喜欢什么颜色？

(Nǐ xǐhuān shénme yánsè?)
Quelle couleur préférez-vous?

What colour do you prefer(Is your fevorite colour)?

2-我要一斤苹果。

Je veux une livre (500g) de pommes.
( Wǒ yào sān jīn píngguǒ.)

I want a pound of apples.

3-你想买什么？（想+V）

( Nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme? (Xiǎng +V))

Que voulez-vous acheter ? (想+ V =avoir envie de)

What do you want to buy? (Want to + V) (What would you like to buy?) 

4-我要买一斤的草莓

(Wǒ yāomǎi yī jīn de cǎoméi)

Je veux acheter une livre de fraises
I want to buy a pound of strawberries

 

5-我要去市场。

(wǒ yào qù shìchǎng.)
Je vais au marché.

I'm going to the market.

6-我喜欢绿色的苹果

(Wǒ xǐhuān lǜsè de píngguǒ)
J'aime les pommes vertes.

I love green apple

7-我喜欢苹果牌的手机。

(Wǒ xǐhuān píngguǒ pái pái de shǒujī.)
J'aime la marque de téléphone Apple.

I like the Apple brand of mobile phone.

8-你喜欢什么牌子的手机？

( Nǐ xǐhuān shénme páizi de shǒujī?)

Quelle la marque de téléphone aimez-vous ?

What brand of cell phone do you like?

9-我想买一个大西瓜。

(Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yīgè dà xīguā.)
Je veux acheter une grosse pastèque.

I want to buy a big watermelon.

10-我要买，手表，手机，电脑。

 (Wǒ yāo mǎi, shǒubiǎo, shǒujī, diànnǎo.)
Je veux acheter une montre, un téléphone mobile et un ordinateur.

I want to buy, a watche, mobile phone and a computer.

11-对不起，你还没有找我钱。

（dui4bu4qi3，Nǐ hái méiyǒu zhǎo wǒ qián）
vous m'avez pas encore rendu la monnaie.

Excuse me you haven’t given me my change.

12-一共多少钱？

（Yīgòng duōshǎo qián?）
Combien ça coûte en tout?

How much is the total cost?