Supermarket in Chinese 超市
chāoshì
Supermarket in Chinese is 超市 (chāo shì).
Also searched for as: grocery store, groceries, shopping cart.
Where do you buy the ingredients? 15 essential supermarket words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for supermarket in Chinese is 超市 (chāo shì), short for 超级市场 (chāo jí shì chǎng). These words take you through a full shop, from grabbing a 购物车 (gòu wù chē), a trolley, to 排队 (pái duì), queueing at the checkout, and the supermarket is also where you'll meet 斤 (jīn), the half-kilo unit used for fruit and vegetables across China.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 超市 | chāo shì | supermarket |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy |
| 购物车 | gòu wù chē | shopping trolley |
| 篮子 | lán zi | basket |
| 袋子 | dài zi | bag |
| 排队 | pái duì | to queue |
| 收银台 | shōu yín tái | checkout |
| 货架 | huò jià | shelf |
| 打折 | dǎ zhé | discount |
| 便宜 | pián yi | cheap |
| 贵 | guì | expensive |
| 新鲜 | xīn xiān | fresh |
| 称 | chēng | to weigh |
| 斤 | jīn | jin (half a kilo) |
| 零钱 | líng qián | change (coins) |
Usage tips
- Many mainland supermarkets sell fruit, vegetables and loose goods by the 斤 (jīn), and you take them to a weighing counter to be weighed, 称 (chēng), and price-labelled before you go to the checkout.
- At the till you'll hear 一共 (yī gòng), 'altogether', as in 一共五十块 (yī gòng wǔ shí kuài), fifty yuan in total.
- You'll often be asked 要袋子吗 (yào dài zi ma) at the checkout, because bags usually cost extra in mainland supermarkets.
Common mistakes
- Reading 打八折 (dǎ bā zhé) as 80 percent off; it means you pay 80 percent, so 打八折 is 20 percent off and 打五折 (dǎ wǔ zhé) is half price.
- Reading 便 as biàn in 便宜; it's pián yi, cheap, while biàn is the reading in 方便 (fāng biàn), convenient.
Mini dialogue
- A我们拿个购物车吧。Wǒ men ná gè gòu wù chē ba.Let's get a trolley.
- B东西不多，拿个篮子就够了。Dōng xi bù duō, ná gè lán zi jiù gòu le.We're not buying much, a basket will do.
- A你看，今天水果打折！Nǐ kàn, jīn tiān shuǐ guǒ dǎ zhé!Look, fruit's on discount today!
- B太好了，我们买两斤苹果。Tài hǎo le, wǒ men mǎi liǎng jīn píng guǒ.Great, let's get a kilo of apples.
Example sentences
- 我家楼下有一个超市。There's a supermarket downstairs from my flat.
- 妈妈去超市买牛奶了。Mum has gone to the supermarket to buy milk.
- 这个购物车已经满了。This shopping trolley is already full.
- 东西不多，拿个篮子就够了。We're not buying much, so a basket will do.
- 你要袋子吗？一个两毛。Do you need a bag? They're 20 fen each.
- 周末超市里要排队很久。At weekends you have to queue for ages at the supermarket.
- 请到收银台付钱。Please pay at the checkout.
- 鸡蛋在最后一排货架上。The eggs are on the last row of shelves.
- 今天水果打折，很便宜。Fruit is on discount today, so it's very cheap.
- 这里的菜比外面便宜。The vegetables here are cheaper than elsewhere.
- 这瓶水怎么这么贵？Why is this bottle of water so expensive?
- 早上的鱼最新鲜。The fish is freshest in the morning.
- 这些苹果请帮我称一下。Could you weigh these apples for me, please?
- 我要两斤西红柿。I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
- 不好意思，我没有零钱。Sorry, I don't have any change.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Supermarket speaking island has 8 everyday questions about supermarket to prepare your own answers to.