kǎnjiàㄎㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
to bargain, haggle, literally “chop the price”
The market sport: prices in small shops are starting points, not facts. No bargaining in malls or supermarkets, only markets and stalls.
duōshao qiánㄉㄨㄛ ㄕㄠ˙ ㄑㄧㄢˊ
how much, literally “how much money”
The opener. Haggle begins after you hear the ask.
太贵了 太貴了
tài guì leㄊㄞˋ ㄍㄨㄟˋ ㄌㄜ˙
too expensive, literally “too expensive”
The mandatory first counter: express shock, then walk toward the exit slowly.
便宜点 便宜點
piányi diǎnㄆㄧㄢˊ ㄧ˙ ㄉㄧㄢˇ
make it cheaper, literally “cheaper a bit”
The direct ask. The vendor's expected move is a small concession.
打个折 打個折
dǎ ge zhéㄉㄚˇ ㄍㄜ˙ ㄓㄜˊ
give a discount, literally “make a fold”
折 is tenth: 九折 = 90%, 八折 = 80%, 五折 = half price.
抹零
mǒ língㄇㄛˇ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
drop the small change, literally “wipe the zero”
Rounding down 38 to 35: the smallest acceptable concession, often given freely.
一口价 一口價
yīkǒujiàㄧ ㄎㄡˇ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
fixed price, take it or leave it, literally “one-mouth price”
The non-negotiable sign: some sellers mean it, most fold if you push.
màntiān yàojiàㄇㄢˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
asking sky-high prices, literally “sky-full asking price”
The opener inflated for negotiation: start here, land somewhere sane.
坐地起价 坐地起價
zuòdì qǐjiàㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄉㄧˋ ㄑㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
raising price on the spot, literally “sitting ground raises price”
The sudden markup when they see you're interested: unethical but common.
跳楼价 跳樓價
tiàolóu jiàㄊㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄡˊ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
suicide price (fire sale), literally “jump-off-building price”
The dramatic clearance claim: 'selling at a loss, prices make us want to jump'.
白菜价 白菜價
báicàijiàㄅㄞˊ ㄘㄞˋ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
dirt cheap, literally “cabbage price”
Priced like cabbage: insanely cheap.
huánjiàㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
to counter-offer, literally “return price”
The buyer's counter-bid: offer 60-70% and meet somewhere.
开个价 開個價
kāi ge jiàㄎㄞ ㄍㄜ˙ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
name a price, literally “open a price”
The seller's opening gambit: they'll start high.
最低多少
zuìdī duōshaoㄗㄨㄟˋ ㄉㄧ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄕㄠ˙
what's your lowest, literally “lowest how much”
Asking straight for the floor: vendors won't tell you, but the dance begins.
诚心要 誠心要
chéngxīn yàoㄔㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄠˋ
I really want it, literally “sincerely want”
The sincerity play: signaling a real buyer to unlock real pricing.
我再去别家看看 我再去別家看看
wǒ zài qù biéjiā kànkanㄨㄛˇ ㄗㄞˋ ㄑㄩˋ ㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄎㄢˋ ㄎㄢ˙
I'll check other stalls, literally “I go elsewhere look”
The exit threat: vendors drop prices when you turn away.
别家更便宜 別家更便宜
biéjiā gèng piányiㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄍㄥˋ ㄆㄧㄢˊ ㄧ˙
other shops are cheaper, literally “other houses cheaper”
The comparison bluff: they can't verify, but the pressure works.
随便看看 隨便看看
suíbiàn kànkanㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄅㄧㄢˋ ㄎㄢˋ ㄎㄢ˙
just browsing, literally “casually look”
The standard deflect: tells the vendor not to pounce yet.
亏本卖 虧本賣
kuīběn màiㄎㄨㄟ ㄅㄣˇ ㄇㄞˋ
selling at a loss, literally “lose-capital sell”
The vendor's ritual lament: 'I'm losing money' means you're close to the floor.
缺斤少两 缺斤少兩
quējīn shǎoliǎngㄑㄩㄝ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄕㄠˇ ㄌㄧㄤˇ
short-weighting customers, literally “lacking jin few liang”
The scale fraud: vendors shave weight, buyers check with hand scales.
大甩卖 大甩賣
dà shuǎimàiㄉㄚˋ ㄕㄨㄞˇ ㄇㄞˋ
big clearance sale, literally “big dump sale”
The closing-down cry: '最后三天大甩卖' runs year-round.
qīngcāngㄑㄧㄥ ㄘㄤ
clearance, literally “clear warehouse”
Emptying the warehouse: seasonal stock dumps.
买一送一 買一送一
mǎi yī sòng yīㄇㄞˇ ㄧ ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄧ
buy one get one free, literally “buy one give one”
BOGO: the standard retail hook.
扫码支付 掃碼支付
sǎomǎ zhīfùㄙㄠˇ ㄇㄚˇ ㄓ ㄈㄨˋ
pay by QR scan, literally “scan code pay”
The default: WeChat or Alipay QR. Cash is rare; small vendors may not take cards.
微信支付
Wēixìn zhīfùㄨㄟ ㄒㄧㄣˋ ㄓ ㄈㄨˋ
WeChat Pay, literally “WeChat pay”
The dominant mobile payment: green QR code.
支付宝 支付寶
Zhīfùbǎoㄓ ㄈㄨˋ ㄅㄠˇ
Alipay, literally “pay treasure”
The other dominant wallet: blue QR code.
xiànjīnㄒㄧㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄣ
cash, literally “cash”
Declining but accepted: some old vendors and rural markets only take it.
找零
zhǎolíngㄓㄠˇ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
give change, literally “find small”
The small change: vendors round, or fumble for coins.
fāpiàoㄈㄚ ㄆㄧㄠˋ
official tax receipt, literally “issue ticket”
The fapiao: needed for work reimbursements, ask 开发票.
xiǎopiàoㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄆㄧㄠˋ
receipt, literally “small ticket”
The everyday receipt: keep it for returns.
tuìhuòㄊㄨㄟˋ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
return goods, literally “return goods”
七天无理由退货: seven-day no-questions returns, the e-commerce law.
换货 換貨
huànhuòㄏㄨㄢˋ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
exchange goods, literally “swap goods”
Swap for another size or color.
bǎoxiūㄅㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄡ
warranty, literally “guarantee repair”
The coverage period: ask how long and what's included.
明码标价 明碼標價
míngmǎ biāojiàㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄇㄚˇ ㄅㄧㄠ ㄐㄧㄚˋ
clearly marked prices, literally “clear code marked price”
The official standard: no hidden costs, no surprise markups.
包邮 包郵
bāoyóuㄅㄠ ㄧㄡˊ
free shipping, literally “ship included”
The magic word in Chinese e-commerce: 'non-remote regions ship free', the qualifier is real.
运费险 運費險
yùnfèixiǎnㄩㄣˋ ㄈㄟˋ ㄒㄧㄢˇ
return-shipping insurance, literally “freight insurance”
Pays back your return postage: buy it for items you might return.
zhèngpǐnㄓㄥˋ ㄆㄧㄣˇ
genuine product, literally “real goods”
Authentic vs 高仿: the eternal question on Chinese platforms.
jiǎhuòㄐㄧㄚˇ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
fake goods, literally “fake goods”
Counterfeits: Taobao fought a decade-long war on them.
shānzhàiㄕㄢ ㄓㄞˋ
knockoff / bootleg, literally “mountain fortress”
The bandit-fortress metaphor: 山寨手机 fake phones, 山寨品牌 knockoff brands. Now also means 'crude DIY imitation'.
高仿
gāofǎngㄍㄠ ㄈㄤˇ
high-grade fake, literally “high imitation”
The convincing counterfeit: looks real, priced lower.
shuǐhuòㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
grey-market imports, literally “water goods”
Smuggled or parallel imports: no warranty, cheaper price.
hánghuòㄏㄤˊ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
official-channel goods, literally “legit goods”
The warranty-backed official import: the safe buy.
èrshǒuㄦˋ ㄕㄡˇ
second-hand, literally “second hand”
闲鱼 is the giant marketplace:二手经济 is huge.
闲鱼 閒魚
Xiányúㄒㄧㄢˊ ㄩˊ
Xianyu (Alibaba's used-goods app), literally “idle fish”
The biggest second-hand platform: 'sell your idle things' made into a brand.
qīnㄑㄧㄣ
dear (Taobao customer-service opener), literally “dear”
The customer-service voice: '亲，有什么可以帮您？' so universal it's mocked.
客服
kèfúㄎㄜˋ ㄈㄨˊ
customer service, literally “customer service”
The chat workers: negotiate refunds, answer questions, copy-paste scripted warmth.
差评 差評
chàpíngㄔㄚˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ
bad review, literally “bad review”
The merchant's nightmare: threatening a 差评 extracts discounts.
好评返现 好評返現
hǎopíng fǎnxiànㄏㄠˇ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄈㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄢˋ
cash back for good reviews, literally “good review returns cash”
The widespread gray practice: sellers bribe buyers for stars. Technically against platform rules.
尾款
wěikuǎnㄨㄟˇ ㄎㄨㄢˇ
final payment (pre-sale balance), literally “tail payment”
The balance after deposit: 定金 first, 尾款 at ship time. '尾款人' is the broke pre-order buyer meme.
yùshòuㄩˋ ㄕㄡˋ
pre-sale, literally “pre-sell”
Pay deposit now, ship later: Singles Day's big mechanism.
秒杀 秒殺
miǎoshāㄇㄧㄠˇ ㄕㄚ
flash sale (seconds-kill), literally “second kill”
Items vanish in literal seconds: refresh wars at midnight.
zhíbōjiānㄓˊ ㄅㄛ ㄐㄧㄢ
livestream room, literally “broadcast room”
Livestream shopping: the host demos, you impulse-buy, discounts are 'livestream price'.
带货 帶貨
dàihuòㄉㄞˋ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
influencer selling, literally “carry goods”
The streamer-sales model: a celeb shills products to their followers.
砍价免费拿 砍價免費拿
kǎnjià miǎnfèi náㄎㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄚˋ ㄇㄧㄢˇ ㄈㄟˋ ㄋㄚˊ
bargain to zero, get it free, literally “haggle free take”
Pinduoduo's viral mechanic: each friend 'cuts' your price a few cents, free at zero.
拼单 拼單
pīndānㄆㄧㄣ ㄉㄢ
group purchase, literally “join order”
Pinduoduo's model: friends order together, everyone pays less.
凑单 湊單
còudānㄘㄡˋ ㄉㄢ
padding the order to hit the threshold, literally “make up order”
Adding items to reach the free-shipping or discount minimum: 满200减30 requires凑单.
满减 滿減
mǎnjiǎnㄇㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄢˇ
spend-X-save-Y, literally “full reduce”
The promotion format: 满300减50 'spend 300, save 50'.
yōuhuìquànㄧㄡ ㄏㄨㄟˋ ㄑㄩㄢˋ
coupon, literally “discount coupon”
Platform and store coupons stack with promotions: collect before paying.