Money is very important and useful in our daily life. We can’t live without money. Do you know how to say money in Chinese? Here show you some related vocabulary, types of money and money phrases or sentences in Chinese.
Money means cash, capital, wealth, currency etc. In Chinese, also has some words for “Money”. Here we help you understand money in Chinese.
The English translation for money in Chinese is 钱[qián]. As this Chinese word is very commonly used in daily Mandarin Chinese conversation, it is therefore good for you to know how say money in Mandarin.
Money in Chinese: 钱
Money in pinyin: [qián]
Tone: Second
Radical: 钅
Component: 戋
Traditional Form: 錢
Stroke Count: 10
Structure: Left to Right
Usage: ★★★★★
The glyph evolution of money in Chinese 钱[qián]
The glyph contrast of money in Chinese 钱[qián]
The order of strokes of money in Chinese 钱[qián]
Calligraphy of money in Chinese 钱[qián]
Other expressions of money in Chinese钱[qián]
金额 [jīn é]: sum, amount
财 [cái]:wealth
货币[huò bì] :currency
资金[zī jīn]:capital, fund
钞票[chāo piào]:bill, paper money
现金[xiàn jīn]:cash
款[kuǎn]:fund, a sum of money
硬币[yìng bì] :coin
费[fèi] :fee,charge
元[yuán] : monetary unit
块 [kuài] : informal form of 元[yuán], more common in conversation
角 [jiǎo] : 0.1 yuan, 10 cents/pennies, dime
毛 [máo] : informal form of 角[jiǎo], more common in conversation
分 [fēn] : 0.01 yuan, 1 cent/penny
块[kuài] is used in spoken Chinese. In written form, you will see the character 元[yuán]. Also, note that “kuài” technically is a measure word (sometimes people will say the full phrase “块钱[kuài qián]”, for example, 三块钱[sān kuài qián] 3 in chinese.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 零钱 | líng qián | change |
| 价钱 | jià qián | price |
| 花钱 | huā qián | to spend money |
| 赚钱 | zhuàn qián | to earn money |
| 省钱 | shěng qián | to save money |
| 还钱 | huán qián | to repay money |
| 取钱 | qǔ qián | to withdraw money |
| 付钱 | fù qián | to pay money |
| 零花钱 | líng huā qián | pocket money |
| 压岁钱 | yā suì qián | lucky money |
| 费钱 | fèi qián | waste money |
| 赔钱 | péi qián | to lose money |
| 钱包 | qián bāo | wallet |
| 找钱 | zhǎo qián | to give change |
There are other Chinese words contain钱[qián], but not related with money or currency.
For example:
1. 钱塘江 [qián táng jiāng] :one of the most famous rivers in China. And the spring tide of 钱塘江[qián táng jiāng] is a grand scenery during the mid-autumn festival.
2. 钱 [qián] can also be used to measure something, like gram(克 [kè]), one “钱[qián]” equal to 0.2 gram (0.2克[kè]).
Measure words:
一钱 [yī qián] : 0.2 gram
二钱 [èr qián]: 0.4 gram
三钱 [sān qián]: 0.6 gram
.....
十钱 [shí qián]: 2 gram (equal to 一两 [yī liǎng])
3. 钱 [qián] is also a family name in China, in Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓[bǎi jiā xìng]), it’s second of ranking list.
我姓钱
[wǒ xìng qián]
My family name is [qián].
4. 钱家庄 [qián jiā zhuāng], a village name
5. 金钱豹 [jīn qián bào], a kind of leopards have either tawny fur with dark rosettelike markings or black fur.
现金 [xiàn jīn]：pay in cash
支票[zhī piào]：pay in cheque
电子钱包 [diàn zǐ qián bāo]: pay in E-wallet
移动支付 [yí dòng zhī fù]: it’s digital payment, such as: paypal, apple pay, stripe, alipay, wechat pay, etc.
Useful Phrases or Sentence Containing money in Chinese 钱[qián]
Below content to show you how to speak some common sentences or phrases about money in Chinese with its English explain. More practice, more comfortable you can speak well.
1. 有钱 [yǒu qián] - have money
你有钱吗？
nǐ yǒu qián ma ?
Do you have money?
2. 没钱 [méi qián] –not have money
我没钱。
wǒ méi qián.
I don’t have money.
I have no money.
3. 借钱 [ jiè qián] - borrow or lend money
能借我五块钱吗？
néng jiè wǒ wǔ kuài qián ma？
Can I borrow 5 yuan?
Can you lend me 5 yuan?
4. 赚钱 [zhuàn qián]-to earn money
我想多赚钱。
wǒ xiǎng duō zhuàn qián.
I want to earn more money.
5. 花钱 [huā qián]- to spend money
我今天花了一百块钱。
wǒ jīn tiān huā le yī bǎi kuài qián.
I spent one hundred yuan today.
6. 钱包 [qián bāo]- wallet
我有一个漂亮的钱包。
wǒ yǒu yī gè piāo liàng de qián bāo.
I have a beautiful wallet.
7. 多少钱 [duō shǎo qián]-How much
这本书多少钱？
zhè běn shū duō shǎo qián？
How much is the book?
这本书30元。
zhè běn shū 30 yuan.
This book is 30 yuan.
给你50元。
gěi nǐ 50 yuan.
Give you 50 yuan.
找你20元。
zhǎo nǐ 20yuán.
Give you the change, 20 yuan.
8. 能便宜一点吗?
néng pián yi yī diǎn ma?
Can it be cheaper?
太贵了!
tài guì le!
It is too expensive.
可以打折吗?
kě yǐ dǎ zhé ma?
Is there a discount?
9. 花钱容易，挣钱难。
huā qián róng yì ，zhèng qián nán.
Making money is harder than spending money.
10. 自动取款机-ATM
zì dòng qǔ kuǎn jī
ATM machine
Chinese idioms about money in Chinese 钱[qián]
1. 见钱眼开 [jiàn qián yǎn kāi]
It said people greedy lover of money, when he saw the money, his eyes widened.
2. 钱不会从天上掉下来。
qián bú huì cóng tiān shàng diào xià lái。
Money will not grow on trees.
3. 一分钱一分货。
yī fèn qián yī fèn huò.
You get what you pay for.
4. 钱不是万能的 但没有钱是万万不能的。
qián bú shì wàn néng de，dàn méi yǒu qián shì wàn wàn bú néng de.
Money is not everything, but without money it is impossible.
5. 花钱如流水。
huā qián rú liú shuǐ.
Spending money like water.
钱 [qián] in other countries
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 fǎláng] — 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
Contact Native-Chinese teacher, we provide native mandarin speaker as your private tutor. Here’s form for contact.
