偌濟
gōa-chē
The phrase for "how much" in Hokkien is 偌濟 (gōa-chē).
偌濟 is used as a determiner to ask about the cost or price of an item.
Meaning: what is the cost/price? (det)
How do you pronounce it?
gōa-chē
Did you know?
- In the phrase 偌濟, the character 濟 is historically linked to words meaning 'to cross a river' or 'to provide relief', giving the simple question of price a surprisingly profound etymological root.
- The phrase 偌濟 can function as an exclamation meaning 'so many!' rather than a question about price.
- To ask about weight instead of cost, you only need to swap one character, changing 偌濟 into 偌重.
Example conversation
Guoqiang is buying a fruit at a market from Jiayi.
- 國強 Kok-kiang佳怡，這顆蘋果偌濟？Ka-î, che khò píng-guó kò-cē?Jiayi, how much is this apple?
- 佳怡 Chia-yi一個十塊錢。chi̍t-ê chhap khò chîⁿ.It is ten dollars each.
- 國強 Kok-kiang我要買三個，總共偌濟？guá beh cài saⁿ-ê, chóng-kóng kò-cē?I want to buy three, how much is it in total?
- 佳怡 Chia-yi總共三十塊。chóng-kóng saⁿ-chhap khò.It is thirty dollars in total.
