偌濟
gōa-chē
偌濟 (gōa-chē) is the Hokkien way to say "how much" when inquiring about a cost or price.
This phrase is used as a determiner to ask for the price or cost of an item.
Meaning: what is the cost/price? (det)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 偌 (gōa), which means "how" and 濟 (chē), which means "much" or "many".
How does it change in a sentence?
To specifically ask "how much money", you can add 錢 (chîⁿ), meaning "money", after 偌濟 to form 偌濟錢.
How do you pronounce it?
gōa-chē
Did you know?
- The word 濟 in 偌濟 also appears in Hokkien terms for 'saving' or 'relief', linking the idea of abundance to the act of rescue.
- Because Hokkien is a tonal language, an imprecise pitch when saying 偌濟 can lead a merchant to hear a completely different word.
- If you use 偌濟 in a high-end department store in Taipei, it may sound more like a street-market interaction than a polite customer inquiry.
Example conversation
Guoqiang is buying fruit at a market from Meiling.
- 國強 Kok-kiang美玲，這桶蘋果偌濟？Bí-lîng, che thóng píng-guó jnō-chē?Meiling, how much is this bucket of apples?
- 美玲 Mei-ling一百塊。chi̍t-pah kuài.One hundred dollars.
- 國強 Kok-kiang太貴了，便宜一點好無？thài kuì liáu, piân-ii chi̍t-tiám hó-bô?Too expensive, can you make it a bit cheaper?
- 美玲 Mei-ling好啦，八十塊賣你。hó-la, kah-si̍t-chap kuài bè lí.Alright, I'll sell them to you for eighty dollars.
