Shopping and bargaining
Bargaining in China is expected at markets and tourist stalls, and completely inappropriate in shops with price tags. The two phrases that do the work are 太贵了！ ("too expensive!") and 便宜点儿吧。 ("a bit cheaper, please"). The most effective move is not a phrase at all — it is walking away.
What actually happens
Where you are decides everything. In a supermarket, a chain store, a mall or anywhere with a printed price, the price is the price and haggling is simply odd. In a tourist market, an antiques street, a clothing stall or an electronics arcade, the first number is an opening bid and everyone in the transaction knows it. Getting this distinction right matters more than any vocabulary.
Where bargaining is expected, the mechanics are consistent. The opening price for an obvious foreigner may be three to five times the real one. A workable counter is around a third of the asking price, and you settle somewhere near half. This is not aggression; it is the format, and it is usually conducted with good humour on both sides.
The strongest tool is your feet. 我再看看。 ("I'll look around") and a genuine step away resolves more prices than any argument — if the number was possible, you will be called back before you have gone ten metres. And once you name a number and they accept it, you have bought the thing. Walking away after a deal is agreed is the one real rudeness here.
What they'll say back to you
Understanding the reply is the half of the conversation phrasebooks skip. These are the lines you will actually hear in this situation — learn to recognise them, not to say them.
What to say
The bargain
Deciding
Clothes and sizes
Afterwards
The bit that isn't language
Before you bargain for anything, check the price of the same object in a fixed-price shop or on a Chinese shopping app. Knowing the real number turns the whole exchange from a guess into arithmetic — and it stops you celebrating a 50% discount off a 400% markup.
Quick quiz — 5 questions
Five questions built from the phrases above: you get the English, you pick the Chinese. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that they have stuck.
How do you say this?
Common mistakes
| ✗ What visitors do | ✓ What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Haggling in a supermarket or chain store | Paying the marked price | Where prices are printed they are fixed. Bargaining there is not shrewd, it is simply out of place, and it makes the rest of the interaction awkward. |
| Naming a price you don't actually want to pay | Only naming numbers you'd accept | An accepted offer is a completed deal in market etiquette. Backing out after your own number is agreed is the one move that genuinely causes offence. |
| Getting angry | Smiling and walking away | Bargaining is a routine, cheerful transaction here. Irritation ends it badly; a smile and a step towards the door ends it in your favour. |
Shopping and bargaining — frequently asked questions
How do you say "too expensive" in Chinese?
太贵了 (tài guì le). It is the standard opening move in any market bargain and is said cheerfully, not indignantly. Follow it with 便宜点儿吧 (piányi diǎnr ba) — "make it a bit cheaper".
Where is it acceptable to bargain in China?
At tourist markets, clothing and souvenir stalls, antiques streets and electronics arcades — anywhere without a printed price. In supermarkets, chain stores, malls, restaurants and taxis the price is fixed and haggling is inappropriate.
How much should I offer when bargaining in China?
As a rule of thumb, counter at about a third of the opening price and expect to settle near half. Foreign visitors are routinely quoted three to five times the local price, so an aggressive-sounding counter is usually still a fair deal for the seller.
What is the best bargaining tactic in China?
Walking away. 我再看看 (wǒ zài kànkan — "I'll look around") followed by actually leaving is more effective than any argument about price: if your number was workable you will be called back within a few steps.
Next
Before you fly
Work through the whole trip in Ready for a trip to China in 30 days, play Travel Survival Sprint to make the phrases automatic, practise saying them aloud in Airport Roleplay, or look up anything else in the Chinese → Pinyin translator.