tou2 gaa3討價讨价

Jyutpingtou2 gaa3

Yaletóu ga

Definition

To ask for a price, or to bargain and haggle over a price.

to ask for a price; to state an asking price
to bargain or haggle over a price

colloquialshoppingmoney

How it's used

While 討價 is the formal way to describe the act of negotiating a price, it is almost always used in the four character idiom 討價還價. In casual daily conversation, native speakers prefer using 講價 to describe the act of haggling. Using 討價 alone can sound slightly stiff or literary, as if you are describing the concept rather than the action itself.

Examples

heoi3去gaai1街si5市maai5買sung3餸zeoi3最zung1鍾ji3意tou2討gaa3價。

I love bargaining when buying groceries at the wet market.

nei5你tung4同keoi5佢tou2討gaa3價zo2咗hou2好noi6耐mei6未aa4呀？

Have you been bargaining with them for a long time?

Common phrases

tou2討gaa3價waan4還gaa3價

to bargain or haggle

Common mistake

Learners often mistake 討價 for a standalone verb in casual speech, but it is rarely used without 還價 following it. If you want to sound natural when asking someone if they haggled, use 講價 instead.