SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/zh-pianyi-yidian-cheaper

How do you ask a vendor to make something cheaper in Mandarin?

Say piányi yìdiǎn ba (便宜一点吧).

Start playing free

  1. duōshao qián? (多少钱?)
  2. mǎidān (买单)
  3. piányi yìdiǎn ba (便宜一点吧) ✔

Why: Piányi (便宜) means cheap, yìdiǎn (一点) means a little, and ba (吧) softens the request. It is a polite bargaining phrase.

Huh, didn't know that: Yìdiǎn after an adjective means a bit more, so piányi yìdiǎn is a bit cheaper.

The dad joke
Why did the bargain shopper bring a telescope? To see the lower prices coming.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: piányi yìdiǎn ba (便宜一点吧). Piányi (便宜) means cheap, yìdiǎn (一点) means a little, and ba (吧) softens the request. It is a polite bargaining phrase.

  1. MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary: 便宜 www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E4%BE%BF%E5%AE%9C
    cheap; inexpensive
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary: 一点 www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E4%B8%80%E7%82%B9
    (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  3. MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary: 吧 www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E5%90%A7
    (modal particle indicating suggestion or surmise)
    Checked 2026-10-12.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

LanguagesHow do you say 'Goodbye' in Mandarin Chinese?LanguagesHow do you say 'turn right' in Mandarin Chinese?LanguagesWhat does cèsuǒ (厕所) mean in Mandarin Chinese?

That's stuff everyone should know.