Bargaining in Chinese?

[absurd]

I'll be going to China (mostly Xinjiang) in a few weeks after having spent a year studying Chinese. Last time I went I didn't really speak the language, so bargaining was done with gestures, calculators and in broken English.

This time, however, I would love to do the whole bargaining thing in Mandarin, but I don't really have any vocabulary for it... so what's some good vocabulary for bargaining? Something that you could use in most situations...? Good exclamations, etc.

Thanks a lot!

[889]

I'm not one much for hard bargaining and tend to stick with something pretty gentle like 便宜一点可以吗 Pianyi yidianr keyi ma?

Where a harder attitude seems called for I'd use something like 这本书最低价多少钱? Zhe benr shu zuidi jia duoshao qian?

Note that when a seller starts off a negotiation with his "最低价" "best price" it's a clear signal it really isn't.

The all-purpose response to any offer, of course, is 太贵了 Tai guile!

[stonelee]

这个多少钱？那个呢？ How much is it? and that one?

怎么这么贵！So expensive!

拿给我看看。Let me see it.

最便宜可以多少？What is the lowest price?

你再给我便宜点，下次我可以带我朋友来买。If you can Give me more cheaper price,then next time i'll bring my friends to your shop.

给我挑个好的。Choose a good one for me.

I just occur to these sentences at this moment.

It would be useful if you go with some local friends.

[skylee]

This time, however, I would love to do the whole bargaining thing in Mandarin

It wouldn't help if the shop owners/ assistants / hawkers don't speak Mandarin themselves (you are going to Xinjiang, right?) ....

I admire people who know how to bargain. I don't, so I usually let my friends, if they are with me, do the bargaining.

PS - compare 889's suggestions and stonelee's you can see the difference in their tones. I like 889's tone because I think it is more polite. But then this is perhaps exactly why I can't bargain.

[leeyah]

Haggling? In Xinjiang? Oh, that must be fun!

To be honest, haggling is one of the things I don't like in China and I usually shop in the regular places, but I did manage to get things at almost half price once or twice when I wanted to have some fun. So, here's how you should do it:

First I must say I agree with what stonelee said, you'll get the best results if you don't go shopping on your own - be sure to take a friend, and I don't mean a girlfriend. If you're a guy, better take a male buddy with you and then do the following:

Rule number one: never show too much interest, give the impression of indifference. It's just like life, when you are too open and too emotional, most people will think you are a fool and try to get the best of you. So, even if you like something very much try not to look too keen on buying it, play cool. Say 我只是随便看看. When you find what you like, ask for the price. If it's clothes sometimes they will let you try it on first and you'll probably hear them say: 你先试试吧，试好了咱再说价. When you've tried it on, don't look too pleased but start complaining, say it's either too big, or too small or whatever, XX 有毛病, 不好看 etc etc Remember they will go: oh, it's perfect, you look great etc etc But don't give in to compliments.

Anyway, the more dissatisfaction you are able to express in Chinese the better, if your level isn't so high, look up some convenient words in the dictionary and make a list of them, it may come in handy. The reason why you should bring a friend along is because you need support, someone to stand by you and just keep on nagging and finding fault with whatever it is you want to buy. You know, say things like this is not good, it doesn't suit you (if it's clothes or whatever). Or you can both do the shopping and help each other out in turns. Anyway, this is bound to add more pressure on the seller & get them in the mood to start lowering the price. But even before they do you say: 我不买，太贵. When they name their price and say it's cheap you say 这也叫便宜吗？& ask 还能不能便宜？Most likely they will ask 你给多少? And if you're cool and in no hurry, you can even try asking for half price 砍一半价：if it's 50块 you say 25吧！If they say no, you make as if you're going away. Most likely is they will say 给我40块吧 or even use the friendly variant 你给40块拉倒.Then you can go 还是太贵阿， 不要. In the end settle for 30. Most likely this is just about what it's really worth. (Yes, it's usually about 20 kuai lower than the price stated)

Since you're a foreigner and they believe all foreigners are rich , I don't think phrases like 我真买不起了 will work, but if you wish you can try this variant too, at their 50快 you say 我口袋里没有XX块. He will ask how much you've got. You name what you think it's worth. If he goes: 哎呀哥们 别开玩笑，赔死我了，再添XX块吧 etc etc, go for it if you feel it's not too much, or go on playing .Just make sure you don't go too far, or you may end up empty handed.

[isela]

Totally impressed by Leeyah! I bow to your post!

I think the basic rule is that you need to be really DARING, daring to cut off the price, and daring to behave like a jerk.

[absurd]

It wouldn't help if the shop owners/ assistants / hawkers don't speak Mandarin themselves (you are going to Xinjiang, right?) ....

I don't suspect I'll run into that many problems. 40% of the population in Xinjiang are -presumably Mandarin-speaking- Han Chinese, so I'm sure many of the Uyghur and other ethnicities (at least those in shops) will also have some level of proficiency in Chinese. There's a table on Wikipedia which shows the different ethnic make-ups of Xinjiang prefectures and there's a sizable Han population in most of them. The ones that don't have many Han (like Kashgar) just add to the sense of adventure :-) hopefully I'm gonna learn a bit of Uyghur while down there.

Anyway, thanks for all the responses so far and keep them coming! This is great stuff!

[isela]

Don't worry about the language. They (at least those who sell stuff) all speak Mandarin.

[skylee]

They (at least those who sell stuff) all speak Mandarin.

I like the confidence.

[isela]

I mean really, both of my parents have been there, and that's what they told me. I wish to go there sometime too, to have their real authentic 羊肉串 (mutton skewer)！hohoho~~

[yonglin]

40% of the population in Xinjiang are -presumably Mandarin-speaking- Han Chinese, so I'm sure many of the Uyghur and other ethnicities (at least those in shops) will also have some level of proficiency in Chinese.

Uhm. Any place you actually want to go to (apart from Urumqi), there will certainly not be 40% Chinese speakers. Han people aggregate in large cities where there isn't very much to see (e.g., Korla). According to a Chinese guidebook I have, local Han tend to bargain with Uyghur people in Uyghur language (I never actually paid attention to this, but I never bought much requiring bargaining, i.e., no stuff). On the other hand, there isn't particularly much to bargain for anyway, unless you want to buy a rug or something.

Most hotels/hostels are staffed by Chinese, so this probably won't be an issue. Many restaurants carry a bilingual meny, so pointing at the relevant entry works most of the time (you read Chinese, staff reads Uyghur). It may be good if you learn to recognize your favourite dishes in Uyghur script for those that don't. Outside big cities (Urumqi, etc.), do not eat Chinese food. I repeat, do not eat Chinese food. After a week or so of eating only laghman & plov, you will find that 川菜 sign very tempting - please don't. You won't find anything that is nearly acceptable, let alone tastes good (and it will be pricey).

Xinjiang is wonderful though! I completely loved it (wish I could go back now...). I recommend staying overnight at Kahu between Kashgar and Tashkurgan. Wish you a great trip!

[skylee]

I mean really, both of my parents have been there, and that's what they told me.

That's good to know. I went there a few years ago. But I was just a tourist like the OP. What do I know?

[absurd]

Outside big cities (Urumqi, etc.), do not eat Chinese food. I repeat, do not eat Chinese food. After a week or so of eating only laghman & plov, you will find that 川菜 sign very tempting - please don't. You won't find anything that is nearly acceptable, let alone tastes good (and it will be pricey).

Why is this...? I'm curious.

Anyhow, I really like the Islamic cuisine in China. Used to stay right next to cheap Uyghur restaurant in Shanghai that did the whole hand-pulled noodle thing ;) and I've had some of those spicy steamed buns w/ kebab too. Muslim food in general is quite tasty, I'd say.

[isela]

Hi Skylee,

Errr... I'm not quite getting this. What is an OP?

Are you saying that one WILL run into language trouble there? I haven't been to Xin-Jiang myself, and all I'm saying is based on what I heard. It might be that my parents didn't seek interactions with the locals. Please share more!

[skylee]

OP = original post / poster

I just don't think that everyone who sells stuff in Xinjiang speaks Mandarin. That's all. And during my trip there were certainly places that I went through where Hanyu was not that viable (e.g. small restaurant in the middle of nowhere during a seven-hour bus journey). But of course our Uyghur local guide took care of everything..

I myself am a dialect speaker and I detest claims that Mandarin is spoken by everyone in China. Because it is not true. That's all.

[isela]

Hi, Skylee,

I apologize if I had offended you in anyway.

You're right. It's very wrong to assume that Mandarin is spoken by everybody in China or by everybody who does business in this country. What I really meant to say was actually that if you're just being a tourist, and presumably only visit those well-known and developed big places in Xin-Jiang, then language shouldn't an issue, based on what i heard. I guess i didn't make my post convey what i intended to say.

In fact, can I know which dialect you speak? Which province are you from? Your English is really good!

[stonelee]

TO leeyah~

Anyway, the more dissatisfaction you are able to express in Chinese the better, if your level isn't so high, look up some convenient words in the dictionary and make a list of them, it may come in handy. The reason why you should bring a friend along is because you need support, someone to stand by you and just keep on nagging and finding fault with whatever it is you want to buy. You know, say things like this is not good, it doesn't suit you (if it's clothes or whatever). Or you can both do the shopping and help each other out in turns. Anyway, this is bound to add more pressure on the seller & get them in the mood to start lowering the price. But even before they do you say: 我不买，太贵. When they name their price and say it's cheap you say 这也叫便宜吗？& ask 还能不能便宜？Most likely they will ask 你给多少? And if you're cool and in no hurry, you can even try asking for half price 砍一半价：if it's 50块 you say 25吧！If they say no, you make as if you're going away. Most likely is they will say 给我40块吧 or even use the friendly variant 你给40块拉倒.Then you can go 还是太贵阿， 不要. In the end settle for 30. Most likely this is just about what it's really worth. (Yes, it's usually about 20 kuai lower than the price stated)

leeyah~! You are really good at bargaining in China! I am sure that you always go out for shopping~!

[leeyah]

No, not really.

In China I'm just a poor student, got to take good care of my money, that's all.

[skylee]

isela, i was not offended. As I said, I just found your confidence surprising.

[imron]

You might also find that if you are bargaining with Uyghurs, you might get a better deal if you bargain in English compared to Mandarin. Some Uyghurs have a very low opinion of Han Chinese and Mandarin speakers.