價格 / 价格
jiàgé
The English word 'price' is translated into Chinese as 價格 / 价格 (jiàgé). If unsure, use 價格 / 价格. Wiktionary also lists 價錢 / 价钱 (jiàqian) and 價 / 价 (jià).
Meaning: cost required to gain possession of something (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 價格 / 价格 | jiàgé |
| 價錢 / 价钱 | jiàqian |
| 價 / 价 | jià |
價格 / 价格 refers to the cost required to gain possession of something. It is the appropriate term when discussing market prices, price indices or economic concepts such as price fluctuation. In business contexts, the specific term 售价 can be used to refer to the selling price of a product or service.
Which one should you use?
價格 / 价格 is the formal term used in professional, economic or written contexts. In contrast, 價錢 / 价钱 is more colloquial and is the common spoken term used when asking about the cost of goods in markets or shops.
How does it change in a sentence?
The single character 價 / 价 is rarely used alone to mean 'price' in modern spoken Chinese. It typically functions as a bound morpheme in compound words such as 價格 / 价格 or 價目表 (price list).
How do you pronounce it?
jiàgé
Did you know?
- While 價格 / 价格 describes the cost, the phrase 砍价 literally means 'chopping the price', referring to the act of haggling.
- When people say they are paying a 'price' for a mistake, they often use the word 代價, which refers to a 'sacrifice' rather than a market value.
- The phonetic component in the character 價, which is 賈, actually means 'to sell', linking the concept of 'price' directly to the act of selling.
Examples in context
- 这个东西多少钱？How much does this thing cost?
- 价格是100元。The price is 100 yuan.
- 我们需要降低售价来增加销量。We need to lower the selling price to increase sales volume.
- 这个可以便宜点吗？Can this be cheaper?
- 当然可以，给你个特价！Of course, I'll give you a special price!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “price” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 價, CC BY-SA 4.0.
