Chinese Vocabulary for: Shopping at a supermarket
Shopping at a supermarket in Mandarin is a great way to practice food vocabulary, numbers, and asking where things are. This page covers the words and sentences you need to find aisles, ask for help, and pay at the counter. The content is aimed at A2–B2 learners and HSK 3–6, so you get real-life phrases you'll hear in Carrefour, RT-Mart, or local chains. Learning these with example sentences and a short review loop will make grocery runs much easier.
When you'd use this
Use this when you're in a supermarket looking for items, asking where something is, checking prices, or at the checkout (bagging, payment, receipt).
Key vocabulary
- 超市chāo shì• supermarket
- 在哪儿zài nǎ er• where is it
- 收银台shōu yín tái• checkout counter
- 购物车gòu wù chē• shopping cart
- 袋子dài zi• bag
- 打折dǎ zhé• on sale / discount
- 保质期bǎo zhì qī• expiry date
- 称重chēng zhòng• weigh (e.g. produce)
- 会员huì yuán• member
- 刷卡shuā kǎ• pay by card
- 扫码sǎo má• scan to pay
- 发票fā piào• receipt
- 找零zhǎo líng• change
- 一共yī gòng• total
Example sentences
牛奶在哪儿？
Niú nǎi zài nǎ er?
Where is the milk?
收银台在哪里？
Shōu yín tái zài nǎ lǐ?
Where is the checkout?
这个打折吗？
Zhè ge dǎ zhé ma?
Is this on sale?
要袋子吗？
Yào dài zi ma?
Do you need a bag?
一共多少钱？
Yī gòng duō shǎo qián?
How much in total?
可以扫码付款吗？
Kě yǐ sǎo má fù kuǎn ma?
Can I pay by scanning?
Common mistakes / natural phrasing
'在哪儿' is casual for 'where is it'; '在哪里' is slightly more formal. '打折' means 'on sale' or 'discount'; '打几折' means 'what discount' (e.g. 打八折 = 20% off). '一共' is 'total'—use it at checkout.
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