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讨价还价 (tǎo jià huán jià) — to bargain, to haggle over a price

Definition

Verb phrase meaning 'to bargain / haggle over a price' — describes the back-and-forth negotiation itself. 物美价廉 names the desired outcome (cheap and good quality), not the act of bargaining.

phrase
to bargainto haggle over a price

Examples

  • ，讨价还价。
    Mǎi yī fu de shí hou, mā ma zǒng xǐ huan gēn lǎo bǎn tǎo jià huán jià.
    When buying clothes, Mom always likes to bargain with the shopkeeper.
  • 讨价还价，。
    Tā huā le yí gè xiǎo shí tǎo jià huán jià, zuì hòu pián yi le wǔ shí kuài.
    He spent an hour haggling and finally got 50 yuan off.
  • 讨价还价，。
    Wǒ bú tài huì tǎo jià huán jià, měi cì dōu shì bié rén bāng wǒ jiǎng jià.
    I'm not very good at bargaining; every time someone else negotiates the price for me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

讨价ask a price
讨tǎoseek价jiàprice
动宾Verb + object
还价counter a price
还háireturn价jiàprice
动宾Verb + object

讨价 means ask a price and 还价 means return a price; together they describe bargaining.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 討; 讨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
肘
肘zhǒu討tǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 討 pairs 言 (speech) with a shortened form of 肘 for sound; an old reading took 言 plus 寸 (hand) as 'rectify'. The simplified 讨 is a shorthand, so its parts are not historical components.

Open 讨 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
介
介jiè价jiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

价 pairs 人 (person) with 介, which gives the sound.

Open 价 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 還; 还 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng還hái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 還 pairs 辵 (walk) with 睘 as a sound part for 'go back; return'; the simplified 还 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 还 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
介
介jiè价jiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

价 pairs 人 (person) with 介, which gives the sound.

Open 价 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Idioms & Set PhrasesShopping & Errands

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