How to say “how much” in Chinese
🔊 Tap to hear it
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Word by word
Tone tip
少 is normally shǎo (third tone), but in 多少 ('how many/much') it is a light neutral tone. 钱 (qián, money) rises - a clean second tone.
In a sentence
Zhège duōshao qián?
How much is this?
Hear it and say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio and scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
How do you say "how much" in Chinese?+
"how much" in Mandarin Chinese is 多少钱, pronounced duōshao qián. 少 is normally shǎo (third tone), but in 多少 ('how many/much') it is a light neutral tone. 钱 (qián, money) rises - a clean second tone.
What does 多少钱 mean literally?+
多少钱 breaks down as 多 (duō) = how / many, 少 (shao) = few (neutral here), 钱 (qián) = money. Together it means "how much".
How do I get the tones right in duōshao qián?+
少 is normally shǎo (third tone), but in 多少 ('how many/much') it is a light neutral tone. 钱 (qián, money) rises - a clean second tone.
More phrases like this
Master the tones behind it
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
See all the phrases on the how to say things in Chinese index, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.