Bargaining in Chinese: browse, ask, and talk it down
Bargaining in China is polite, brief and expected — in the right place. Tourist markets and small stalls expect it; supermarkets and chain stores have fixed prices and no amount of 可以便宜一点吗 will move them, so read the setting first.
The whole dance is about six sentences, and tone matters as much as words: smile, take your time, and treat the first quote as an opening position rather than an insult. Walking away slowly is a legitimate final move, and sometimes it's the one that closes the deal.
7 steps · 7 phrases · tap any phrase to hear it
Listen to all 7
Hands-free playback — good for a taxi, a queue, or the plane.
Back-to-back Chinese — good once the phrases are familiar.
- 1
Browse without pressure
You may hear
好的，随便看。
Hǎo de, suíbiàn kàn.
Sure, take your time.
我随便看看 is the opener that tells a seller you're browsing, not buying yet — and they genuinely back off when they hear it. Looking without buying is completely normal here; no one follows you out for it.
- 2
Ask the price
You may hear
八十。
Bāshí.
Eighty.
The answer is a number plus 块 (kuài, the spoken word for yuan) — the numbers page is what lets you actually hear it. In tourist markets the first quote usually has room in it; in a fixed-price shop the number is the number.
- 3
Ask if there's a deal
You may hear
现在有活动。
Xiànzài yǒu huódòng.
There's a promotion on now.
打折 means discount, and it's a real concept in malls — seasonal sales go to 五折 (half price). At a stall the same question politely signals that you know there's a local price and a visitor price.
- 4
Talk it down
You may hear
便宜十块，拿走吧。
Piányi shí kuài, ná zǒu ba.
Ten yuan off — take it.
可以便宜一点吗 is the whole negotiation in one polite line. Counter whatever they say with your own number, and keep the smile on — a friendly ten-minute haggle that ends a few yuan apart is the normal outcome, not a failure.
- 5
Try it on
You may hear
可以，这边试。
Kěyǐ, zhèbiān shì.
Sure, try it over here.
Stalls keep a curtain or a mirror for this. Sizes run smaller than most visitors expect, and the stall's stock is the only size range you have — so trying beats guessing, and 这个有点大 (this one is a bit big) keeps the exchange moving.
- 6
Ask for your size
You may hear
有，等一下。
Yǒu, děng yíxià.
Yes — one moment.
小号, 中号, 大号 are S, M and L — the same three sizes on every market rack. If they fetch one from the back, that's normal: the racks out front are rarely the full stock.
- 7
Close the deal
You may hear
好的，一共三十。
Hǎo de, yígòng sānshí.
OK — thirty altogether.
Once the number is agreed, 给我一个袋子 finishes it and payment is the usual QR scan or cash. That final 一共 number is the deal — anything added afterwards is a new conversation you can simply decline.
Also worth having ready
Not part of the flow, but the ones people wish they'd practised before this situation.
Common questions
- Do you have to bargain in China?
- Only where it's expected: tourist markets, small stalls and the shops around them. Malls, chain stores, supermarkets and restaurants all have fixed prices. If you're unsure, ask 这个多少钱 and watch whether the number comes with a pause — that pause is the invitation.
- How much can you talk a price down at a Chinese market?
- It varies by market and item, so anchor on the reply rather than a fixed rule. Start with 可以便宜一点吗 (can you make it cheaper?), counter their answer once, and let walking away do the last round — sellers call people back more often than visitors expect.
- What if I ask the price and don't want to buy?
- Nothing happens — asking is free and normal. 我随便看看 (I'm just browsing) or a smile and 谢谢 closes the moment politely. You are never obliged to buy after asking, and sellers don't treat it as rude.
Every phrase used here, in full
Next situation
🛬 Arriving at the airport
Immigration, questions and getting out of the terminal.
Walk through it