View source for Counting money

{{Grammar Box}} 

Cash rules everything around us, and in China there's no exception. Mastering how to say quantities of money is vital!

== Structure ==

Chinese has a specific structure for talking about quantities for money:

<div class="jiegou">

Number + 块 + Number + 毛

</div>

== Examples ==

<div class="liju">

* 三 <em>块</em> 八 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">3.8</span>
* 十 <em>块</em> 两 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">10.2</span>
* 九 <em>块</em> 五 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">9.5</span>
* 一 <em>块</em> 七 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">1.7</span>
* 五 十 <em>块</em> 五 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">50.5</span>
* 七 十 二 <em>块</em> 四 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">72.4</span>
* 一 百 <em>块</em> 五 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">100.5</span>
* 五 百 <em>块</em> 三 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">500.3</span>
* 两 千 两 百 <em>块</em> 两 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">2200.2</span>
* 三 千 一 百 <em>块</em> 一 <em>毛</em> <span class="expl">3100.1</span>

</div>

If the smaller units are only in tens, you can just say the number of tens. So ''3.86 RMB'' is "三 <em>块</em> 八". Also this way of speaking is normally only used in matters with less than 100. 
<div class="liju">

* 三  <em>块</em> 八<span class="trans">Three kuai eight (3.8)</span>
* 十 <em>块</em> 二<span class="trans">Ten kuai two (10.2)</span>
* 九 <em>块</em> 五<span class="trans">Nine kuai five (9.5)</span>
* 一 <em>块</em> 七<span class="trans">One kuai seven (1.7)</span>
* 五 十 <em>块</em> 五<span class="trans">Fifty kuai five (50.5)</span>
* 七 十 二 <em>块</em> 四<span class="trans">Seventy-two kuai four (72.4)</span>
* 二 十 三 <em>块</em> 八<span class="trans">Twenty-three kuai eight (23.8)</span>
* 两 百 一 十 二 <em>块</em> 三<span class="trans">Two hundred and twelve kuai three (212.3)</span>
* 一 百 七 十 二 <em>块</em> 四<span class="trans">One hundred and seventy-two kuai four (172.4)</span>
* 一 千 三 百 五 十 八  <em>块</em> 五<span class="trans">One thousand three hundred and fifty-eight kuai five (1358.5)</span>

</div>


The first number is the amount of whole RMB (or dollars etc.), and the second is the amount smaller units (e.g. cents). So ''3.86 RMB'' is 

<div class="liju">

* 三 <em>块</em> 八 毛 六<span class="expl">3.86</span><span class="trans"></span>

</div>




And if there's no smaller unit, e.g. 3 RMB, you can just say:

<div class="liju">

* 三 <em>块</em><span class="trans">Three kuai</span>

</div>

块 (kuài) is the more common, informal way to talk about money. More formally you can use 元 (yuán) in exactly the same way. This is similar to the difference between "dollars" and "bucks" in American English, or "pounds" and "quid" in British English. 块 (kuài) is appropriate in more situations than "bucks" or "quid", though.

==See also==
*[[Indicating a Number in Excess]]
*[[Approximating with sequential numbers]]

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Books ===

* [[A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)]] (pp. 88-9) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA →buy]
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 233-4) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]

[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|块|A2|Number + 块/元 (+ Number + 毛/角) (+ 钱)|给 你 五 <em>块</em> 三 <em>毛</em>。|grammar point|ASGL6JOE}}
{{Rel char|元}}
{{Rel char|毛}}
{{Rel char|角}}
{{Similar|Indicating a Number in Excess}}    
{{Similar|Approximating with sequential numbers}}
{{Structure|Numbers and Measure Words}}
{{Used for| Expressing quantity}}