便宜
cheap; inexpensive
piányi
What does 便宜 mean?
便宜 (piányi) is the everyday adjective for 'cheap' or 'inexpensive' — the word you hear in markets, shops, and any conversation about prices. The first character is normally read biàn ('convenient'), but in this compound it shifts to pián and the second character is unstressed (piányi, light tone). Compared with English 'cheap,' 便宜 is less negative when describing prices: telling a vendor 太贵了，便宜一点 ('too expensive, make it cheaper') is standard bargaining, not rude.
It does carry a mild negative tone when applied to a product's quality (这个看起来很便宜 = 'this looks cheap / low-end'). 便宜 also appears in the set phrase 占便宜 (zhàn piányi), meaning 'to take unfair advantage,' which is unrelated to price.
Note: Neutral and shop-friendly. Calling someone or their work 便宜 can imply 'low-quality / cheap-feeling,' so for a polite 'affordable / good value,' use 实惠 (shíhuì) or 划算 (huásuàn) instead.
Character breakdown
cheap (in this compound; normally biàn = convenient)
suitable; appropriate
Memory hook: 'Convenient + suitable' = a price that's easy on your wallet — cheap.
Example sentences
这件衣服很便宜。
Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn piányi.
This piece of clothing is very cheap.
neutral
老板，能不能便宜一点？
Lǎobǎn, néng bu néng piányi yìdiǎn?
Boss, can you make it a little cheaper?
spoken
网上买东西比商店便宜。
Wǎng shàng mǎi dōngxi bǐ shāngdiàn piányi.
Buying things online is cheaper than at stores.
neutral
这个手机又便宜又好用。
Zhè ge shǒujī yòu piányi yòu hǎoyòng.
This phone is both cheap and easy to use.
spoken
Common phrases with 便宜
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
便宜 appears in 4 podcast episodes at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
实惠 means 'good value for money' with a positive feel — emphasizes that you get a lot for what you pay. 便宜 just states the price is low, sometimes hinting at lower quality.
划算 means 'worth it / a good deal' once you weigh price against benefit. Use 便宜 to talk about the price tag itself; use 划算 when judging whether the deal is smart.
Don't confuse 便宜 with
方便 means 'convenient' and uses the standard reading biàn for the same character 便. Same hanzi, totally different word and pronunciation — don't read 便宜 as biànyí.
便利 means 'convenient / handy' (as in 便利店, 'convenience store'). Same first character as 便宜 but read biàn, not pián, and the meaning is convenience, not cheapness.