Chinese phrases
How to say money in Chinese
Money in Chinese is 钱 (qián). For prices, people say 块 (kuài) out loud and write 元 (yuán): 十块 is ten yuan.
钱
money
Ways to say money
钱
Everydaymoney
The general word: 没钱, “no money,” and 多少钱, “how much?”
块
Everydayyuan (spoken)
The unit people say in prices: 五块, 一百块. Often with 钱: 五块钱.
元
Writtenyuan (written)
On price tags, menus, receipts and in announcements. People read 10元 aloud as 十块.
人民币
Formalrenminbi, RMB
The name of the currency, at a bank or an exchange counter.
现金
Everydaycash
Most people pay by scanning a QR code with their phone. Cash works in most places; at a small stall, ask 收现金吗?
零钱
Everydaysmall change; small notes
Coins and small notes. In WeChat Pay, 零钱 is also the name of your wallet balance.
Smaller amounts
One 块 is ten 毛. You meet them in small prices.
毛
ten cents (spoken)
What people say: 五毛 is 0.50 yuan.
角
ten cents (written)
The written word for 毛, on coins and notes.
两块五
2.50 yuan
The last unit drops off. Here 五 means five 毛.
Paying
扫码
to scan the QR code
The usual way to pay, with WeChat Pay or Alipay.
收现金吗
do you take cash?
Ask before you order at a small stall.
找钱
to give change
If the seller has no change, you hear 找不开, “I can’t break it.”
Common mistakes
Asking 有钱吗 for change
有钱吗 asks whether someone has money at all. To ask for small notes or change, say 有零钱吗.
Saying 十人民币
人民币 names the currency. For a price, say 十块 or 十块钱.
Hearing 块 as “piece”
块 is also a measure word for pieces: 一块蛋糕 is a piece of cake. After a number in a price, it means yuan.
At a snack stall
老板，多少钱？
Leon: How much is it?
十五块。
Stallholder: Fifteen yuan.
收现金吗？
Leon: Do you take cash?
收。有零钱吗？
Stallholder: Yes. Do you have anything smaller?
没有，只有一百的。
Leon: No, I only have a hundred.
