Lesson 4: Buying Food at the Supermarket

买东西

Learn how to use 在, 地点, 太, and 了 through the topics of shopping and food.

13 words2 grammar points1 dialogues~14 min

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Vocabulary13 words

超市chāoshìNoun

supermarketan abbreviation of supermarket

Examples

我去超市买东西。

wǒqùchāoshìmǎidōngxī。

I go to the supermarket to buy things.

便宜piányiAdjective

cheap; inexpensivecommonly used for shopping, goods, and services

Examples

这本书很便宜。

zhèběnshūhěnpiányi。

This book is very cheap.

哪里可以买到便宜的衣服？

nǎlǐkěyǐmǎidàopiányideyīfu？

Where can I buy cheap clothes?

菜càiNoun

vegetablecan also mean a dish in general, but in HSK 1 it usually means 'vegetable'

Examples

这个菜好吃。

zhègecàihǎochī。

This dish is delicious.

我要买菜。

wǒyàomǎicài。

I want to buy vegetables.

鸡蛋jīdànNoun

egg (chicken egg)

Examples

我吃了一个鸡蛋。

wǒchīleyígèjīdàn。

I ate an egg.

鸡蛋怎么做？

jīdànzěnmezuò？

How do you cook eggs?

买mǎiVerb

to buyThe act of buying something.

Examples

我买书。

wǒmǎishū。

I buy books.

买苹果。

mǎipíngguǒ。

Buy apples.

没有méiyǒuVerb

to not haveThe negative form of "to have"; also used to negate verbs in the past.

Examples

我没有水。

wǒméiyǒushuǐ。

I do not have water.

面包miànbāoNoun

bread

Examples

我买了一些面包。

wǒmǎileyìxiēmiànbāo。

I bought some bread.

面包在哪儿？

miànbāozàinǎér？

Where is the bread?

牛奶niúnǎiNoun

milk, cow's milk

Examples

请给我牛奶。

qǐnggěiwǒniúnǎi。

Please give me some milk.

我每天喝牛奶。

wǒměitiānhēniúnǎi。

I drink milk every day.

钱qiánNoun

money

Examples

这个多少钱？

zhègeduōshǎoqián？

How much is this?

商店shāngdiànNoun

shop, store

Examples

去商店。

qùshāngdiàn。

Go to the shop.

有yǒuVerb

to have; there isThe negative form uses (méiyǒu) or (méi).

Examples

我有书。

wǒyǒushū。

I have a book.

在zàiVerb

1.to be at; to be presentWhen used as a verb indicating presence.
2.at; in (a place)When used as a preposition indicating location.

Examples

我在家。

wǒzàijiā。

I am at home.

他在学校。

tāzàixuéxiào。

He is at school.

价格jiàgéNoun

pricecommonly used in buying and selling transactions

Examples

这个东西价格太高。

zhègedōngxījiàgétàigāo。

The price of this thing is too high.

价格是多少？

jiàgéshìduōshǎo？

What is the price?

Grammar

Doing Something Somewhere

在 + 地点 + 动词

This indicates the location where an action takes place. '在' is placed before the location, followed by the verb. This structure is often used with '正' or a doubled '在' to emphasize that the action is happening right now.

我在超市买面包。

wǒzàichāoshìmǎimiànbāo。

I'm buying bread at the supermarket.

他正在商店看价格。

tāzhèngzàishāngdiànkànjiàgé。

He is checking prices at the store.

Too...!

太 + 形容词 + 了

Used to emphasize a high degree of an adjective, usually carrying a positive or negative emotion. The '了' at the end of the sentence makes it sound more natural.

这个鸡蛋太贵了！

zhègejīdàntàiguìle！

This egg is too expensive!

超市的菜太便宜了。

chāoshìdecàitàipiányile。

The vegetables at the supermarket are too cheap.

Dialogues

Buying Food at the Supermarket

Hoa and Linh are talking about shopping.

Hoa

你在哪里？

nǐzàinǎlǐ？

Where are you?

Linh

我在超市买面条和牛奶。

wǒzàichāoshìmǎimiàntiáohéniúnǎi。

I'm at the supermarket buying noodles and milk.

Hoa

超市的面包便宜吗？

chāoshìdemiànbāopiányima？

Is the bread at the supermarket cheap?

Linh

面包不太便宜，但是鸡蛋很便宜。商店没有菜了。

miànbāobútàipiányi，dànshìjīdànhěnpiányi。shāngdiànméiyǒucàile。

The bread isn't very cheap, but the eggs are very cheap. The store is out of vegetables.

Hoa

太好了！我去超市买鸡蛋。需要带钱吗？

tàihǎole！wǒqùchāoshìmǎijīdàn。xūyàodàiqiánma？

Great! I'll go to the supermarket to buy eggs. Do I need to bring money?

Linh

要带钱。鸡蛋价格很好。

yàodàiqián。jīdànjiàgéhěnhǎo。

Yes, bring money. The price of the eggs is very good.