Sheena Dizon Last updated: August 27, 2022

55 Words and Phrases to Talk About Money in Chinese with Ease

Money makes the world go round, doesn’t it?

Okay, money isn’t everything, but it does play a huge part in our lives.

钱 (qián) is money in Chinese, but do you know other vocabulary and phrases to talk about financial exchanges?

Because money is so essential to us and the fact that China is one of the top 10 wealthiest nations in the world, it makes sense to learn this particular vocabulary theme in Chinese.

Let’s get started!

Vocabulary and Phrases for Paying in Cash
Vocabulary and Phrases for Cards and Cashless Payments
Phrases for Money Transactions
Different Currencies in Chinese
Chinese Currency: CNY vs. RMB
- What’s Yuan?
- What’s Renminbi?

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Vocabulary and Phrases for Paying in Cash

钱 (qián) — money

现金 (xiànjīn) — cash, ready money

钞票 (chāopiào) — banknote, paper money, (money) bill

硬币 (yìngbì) — coin

零钱 (língqián) — small change, loose change

元 (yuán) — monetary unit

块 (kuài) — informal form of 元, more common in conversation

角 (jiǎo) — 0.1 yuan, 10 cents/pennies, dime

毛 (máo) — informal form of 角, more common in conversation

分 (fēn) — 0.01 yuan, 1 cent/penny

钱包 (qiánbāo) — wallet

零钱包 (líng qiánbāo) — coin purse

货币 (huòbì) — currency

When discussing price, you might’ve noticed native speakers switching between 元 and 块.

This is similar in the United States, where you might switch between “dollars” and “bucks,” or in the UK where they’d use “pounds” and “quid” interchangeably.

While 块 is considered the informal version of 元, it’s more commonly used than 元 in everyday situations.

So if you want to say ¥50, you can either say:

五十元 (wǔshí yuán)

五十块 (wǔshí kuài)

One thing to note is that 元 is normally used for prices in whole numbers. If a price has decimal points, 块 would be the unit to use.

For example, if you want to say ¥9.30, you’d say:

九块三毛 (jiǔ kuài sān máo)

For brevity, say 九块三.

In China these days, it’s rare for anything to be priced to the exact penny, but if you do come across a product that costs ¥6.24, the price in Chinese would be 六块两毛四分 (liù kuài liǎng máo sì fēn).

It’s a mouthful, so don’t hesitate to shorten it to 六块两毛四.

Vocabulary and Phrases for Cards and Cashless Payments

No cash in your wallet? No problem.

China’s steadily moving towards being a cashless society, with even small street vendors accepting mobile payments.

Both locals and foreigners alike have been using apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay to shop, pay bills, book tickets and more. Yes, WeChat is much more than just a messaging app.

Here are the options of payment when going cashless:

借记卡 (jiè jì kǎ) — debit card

信用卡 (xìnyòngkǎ) — credit card

Visa卡 (visa kǎ) — Visa card

万事达卡 (wànshìdá kǎ) — MasterCard

支付宝 (zhīfùbǎo) — Alipay

微信支付 (wēixìnzhīfù) — WeChat Pay

To pay by card, simply say:

我要刷卡 (wǒ yào shuākǎ), which literally means you want to swipe your card.

To ask if the above cashless payments are available, you’d just tack on 可以吗 (kěyǐ ma) after saying your preferred payment.

For example, if you want to ask, “Do you accept WeChat Pay?” or “Can I pay by WeChat?” you’d say:

微信可以吗? (wēixìn kěyǐ ma?)

Phrases for Money Transactions

Shopping

You might already know some key phrases when it comes to shopping, so let’s focus primarily on money exchanges.

To ask, “How much is this?” in Mandarin, you’d ask:

这个多少钱? (zhège duōshǎo qián?)

Is it too expensive? Say:

太贵了! (tài guì le!)

If you happen to be shopping at a market or a store that does allow bartering, you could ask for a discount.

An indirect way of asking is by saying:

能便宜一点吗? (néng piányi yīdiǎn ma?), meaning “Can you reduce the price?”

Although if you don’t mind being more direct, you could ask:

可以打折吗? (kěyǐ dǎzhé ma?), meaning “Can I get a discount?” or “Is there a discount?”

Unless specified otherwise, most stores and vendors accept cash payments.

Refer to the formula provided above if you’re going cashless.

Paying for Meals

You’ve successfully ordered your food in Chinese, and now it’s time to pay the bill.

If you haven’t been given the bill yet, you can ask for it by saying:

服务员,买单 (fú wù yuán, mǎi dān), which literally translates to, “Server, bill.”

Need to split the bill? Let your server know that you want to pay separately by saying:

分开付 (fēn kāi fù) — pay separately

If you need an invoice for tax purposes, just ask 可以给我发票吗? (kěyǐ gěi wǒ fāpiào ma?), which means, “Can you give me an invoice/official receipt?”

You’d then indicate the type of 发票 you need.

In China, you’d request either “individual,” which is 个人 (gèrén), or “company,” which is 单位 (dānwèi).

For the latter, you’ll have to provide your company name and address in Chinese.

Visiting the Bank

Looking for an ATM machine, or perhaps need a bank statement?

Regardless of whether you can carry a conversation in Chinese without fumbling, knowing these terms will at least give the bank tellers an idea of the kind of service you require.

自动取款机 (zìdòng qǔkuǎn jī) — ATM

银行 (yínháng) — bank

新账户 (xīn zhànghù) — new bank account

帐号 (zhànghào) — account number

储蓄账户 (chúxù zhànghù) — savings account

支票账户 (zhīpiào zhànghù) — checking account

银行证明 (yínháng zhèngmíng) — bank certificate

银行对账单 (yínháng duì zhàng dān) — bank statement

取钱 (qǔ qián) — to withdraw (from a bank account)

存入 (cún rù) — to deposit (from a bank account)

存款单 (cúnkuǎn dān) — deposit slip

国外汇兑 (guówài huìduì) — foreign exchange

Different Currencies in Chinese

Curious about what global currencies are in Chinese? Here are the Mandarin translations for the most commonly traded currencies for your reference.

美元 (měiyuán) — USD, American dollar

欧元 (ōuyuán) — EUR, euro

日元 (rì yuán) — JPY, Japanese yen

英镑 (yīngbàng) — GBP, Great British pound, pound sterling

澳元 (àoyuán) — AUD, Australian dollar

加元 (jiā yuán) — CAD, Canadian dollar

瑞士法郎 (ruìshì f ǎ láng) — CHF, Swiss franc

港元 (gǎngyuán) — HKD, Hong Kong dollar

纽元 (niǔ yuán) — NZD, New Zealand dollar

瑞典克朗 (ruìdiǎn kèlǎng) — SEK, Swedish krona

Chinese Currency: CNY vs. RMB

You might’ve heard people referring to Chinese money as yuan and remininbi. So what exactly is the difference between the two?

What’s Yuan?

Without getting too technical with financial lingo, 元 (yuán) is the unit of account; simply meaning a unit that indicates how price is measured, such as the value of banknotes and coins.

Thus, when you’re talking about denominations, you’d say 100 yuan, 50 yuan, 20 yuan, 10 yuan and so forth.

Yuan (¥) is also the symbol and unit used in foreign exchange, and CNY is the abbreviation used in international finance, trading and other modes of monetary exchange.

What’s Renminbi?

Renminbi (RMB) or 人民币 (rénmínbì), on the other hand, is the official currency of China. Known as the “people’s currency,” it’s referred to as the country’s medium of exchange.

The difference between the two is subtle, but most of the time, people will talk about Chinese money in terms of renminbi, as indicated in this conversation below.

Even though the two people in the conversation are discussing foreign exchange rates, the first speaker is speaking about Chinese currency as a medium of exchange, not as a unit of account. Therefore, he refers to Chinese currency as renminbi.

And there you have it. Knowing all these terms and phrases may not be as pain-relieving as counting money, but it sure does make life a lot easier when dealing with money in Chinese!