Xiao Li and Xiao Wang go window-shopping at the mall, admiring expensive clothes and cake they can’t afford, and end up enjoying a simple, happy afternoon together.
我买不起蛋糕
星期天，小李和小王一起去商场逛街。商场里有很多商店，也有很多好看的东西。小李很喜欢逛街，虽然她没有很多钱，但是她觉得看看这些漂亮的东西也很开心。小王不太喜欢逛街，可是因为小李想去，所以他也一起来了。
他们走进一家卖衣服的商店。小李看见一件很漂亮的衣服，就对小王说：“你看，这件衣服真好看！” 小王走过去看了看价钱，说：“3000块钱，太贵了，我们买不起。” 小李叹了口气，说：“是啊，这么贵，我们不能买。” 虽然有一点儿失望，但是小李还是很开心，因为她可以看到这么漂亮的衣服。
后来，他们走到一家蛋糕店门口。小李看见一个草莓蛋糕，觉得看起来真好吃，就说：“这个蛋糕看起来真好吃！” 小王也很想吃，可是他看了看价钱，说：“一块要300块钱，我们吃不起。” 小李听了觉得很奇怪，问小王：“这些我们都买不起，那我们来这里干嘛？” 小王想了想，笑着说：“来看看也不错啊，虽然我们不能买，可是可以看。”
小李听了小王的话，觉得很有道理。她说：“你说得对，逛商场不一定要买东西，看看也很好。” 小王点点头，说：“对啊，而且逛街也可以让我们放松。” 小李笑了，说：“那我们再去别的商店看看吧。” 他们继续在商场里走来走去，看了很多漂亮的东西，虽然什么都没买，但是他们觉得这个下午过得很愉快。
走了很久以后，小王觉得有点儿渴，就说：“那我请你喝可乐吧，这个我请得起。” 小李听了很高兴，说：“好啊，谢谢你！” 他们找到一家小商店，买了两杯可乐，坐在商场里的椅子上，一边喝可乐，一边聊天。小李说：“今天虽然什么贵的东西都没买，可是能跟你一起逛街，喝可乐，聊天，我已经很满足了。” 小王笑着说：“我也是，钱不是最重要的，开心才是最重要的。”
Wǒ Mǎi bu qǐ Dàngāo
Xīngqītiān, Xiǎo Lǐ hé Xiǎo Wáng yìqǐ qù shāngchǎng guàngjiē. Shāngchǎng lǐ yǒu hěn duō shāngdiàn, yě yǒu hěn duō hǎokàn de dōngxi. Xiǎo Lǐ hěn xǐhuan guàngjiē, suīrán tā méiyǒu hěn duō qián, dànshì tā juéde kànkan zhèxiē piàoliang de dōngxi yě hěn kāixīn. Xiǎo Wáng bú tài xǐhuan guàngjiē, kěshì yīnwèi Xiǎo Lǐ xiǎng qù, suǒyǐ tā yě yìqǐ lái le.
Tāmen zǒujìn yì jiā mài yīfu de shāngdiàn. Xiǎo Lǐ kànjiàn yí jiàn hěn piàoliang de yīfu, jiù duì Xiǎo Wáng shuō: “Nǐ kàn, zhè jiàn yīfu zhēn hǎokàn!” Xiǎo Wáng zǒu guòqù kàn le kàn jiàqián, shuō: “Sānqiān kuài qián, tài guì le, wǒmen mǎi bu qǐ.” Xiǎo Lǐ tàn le kǒu qì, shuō: “Shì a, zhème guì, wǒmen bù néng mǎi.” Suīrán yǒu yìdiǎnr shīwàng, dànshì Xiǎo Lǐ háishi hěn kāixīn, yīnwèi tā kěyǐ kàndào zhème piàoliang de yīfu.
Hòulái, tāmen zǒu dào yì jiā dàngāodiàn ménkǒu. Xiǎo Lǐ kànjiàn yí gè cǎoméi dàngāo, juéde kànqǐlái zhēn hǎochī, jiù shuō: “Zhège dàngāo kànqǐlái zhēn hǎochī!” Xiǎo Wáng yě hěn xiǎng chī, kěshì tā kàn le kàn jiàqián, shuō: “Yí kuài yào sānbǎi kuài qián, wǒmen chī bu qǐ.” Xiǎo Lǐ tīng le juéde hěn qíguài, wèn Xiǎo Wáng: “Zhèxiē wǒmen dōu mǎi bu qǐ, nà wǒmen lái zhèlǐ gànmá?” Xiǎo Wáng xiǎng le xiǎng, xiàozhe shuō: “Lái kànkan yě búcuò a, suīrán wǒmen bù néng mǎi, kěshì kěyǐ kàn.”
Xiǎo Lǐ tīng le Xiǎo Wáng de huà, juéde hěn yǒu dàolǐ. Tā shuō: “Nǐ shuō de duì, guàng shāngchǎng bù yídìng yào mǎi dōngxi, kànkan yě hěn hǎo.” Xiǎo Wáng diǎndiǎntóu, shuō: “Duì a, érqiě guàngjiē yě kěyǐ ràng wǒmen fàngsōng.” Xiǎo Lǐ xiào le, shuō: “Nà wǒmen zài qù bié de shāngdiàn kànkan ba.” Tāmen jìxù zài shāngchǎng lǐ zǒu lái zǒu qù, kàn le hěn duō piàoliang de dōngxi, suīrán shénme dōu méi mǎi, dànshì tāmen juéde zhège xiàwǔ guò de hěn yúkuài.
Zǒu le hěn jiǔ yǐhòu, Xiǎo Wáng juéde yǒudiǎnr kě, jiù shuō: “Nà wǒ qǐng nǐ hē kělè ba, zhège wǒ qǐng de qǐ.” Xiǎo Lǐ tīng le hěn gāoxìng, shuō: “Hǎo a, xièxie nǐ!” Tāmen zhǎodào yì jiā xiǎo shāngdiàn, mǎi le liǎng bēi kělè, zuò zài shāngchǎng lǐ de yǐzi shàng, yìbiān hē kělè, yìbiān liáotiān. Xiǎo Lǐ shuō: “Jīntiān suīrán shénme guì de dōngxi dōu méi mǎi, kěshì néng gēn nǐ yìqǐ guàngjiē, hē kělè, liáotiān, wǒ yǐjīng hěn mǎnzú le.” Xiǎo Wáng xiàozhe shuō: “Wǒ yěshì, qián bú shì zuì zhòngyào de, kāixīn cái shì zuì zhòngyào de.”
I Can’t Afford Cake
On Sunday, Xiao Li and Xiao Wang went to the mall together to go shopping. The mall had many stores and many nice-looking things. Xiao Li really liked window-shopping — even though she didn’t have much money, she felt happy just looking at these pretty things. Xiao Wang didn’t really like shopping, but because Xiao Li wanted to go, he came along too.
They walked into a clothing store. Xiao Li saw a very pretty piece of clothing and said to Xiao Wang, “Look, this piece of clothing is really nice!” Xiao Wang walked over, looked at the price, and said, “3,000 yuan, that’s too expensive, we can’t afford it.” Xiao Li sighed and said, “Yeah, that’s so expensive, we can’t buy it.” Although she was a little disappointed, Xiao Li was still happy because she got to see such pretty clothing.
Afterward, they walked to the entrance of a cake shop. Xiao Li saw a strawberry cake and thought it looked really tasty, so she said, “This cake looks really tasty!” Xiao Wang also really wanted to eat it, but he looked at the price and said, “One piece costs 300 yuan, we can’t afford to eat it.” Hearing this, Xiao Li found it strange and asked Xiao Wang, “We can’t afford any of this, so then why did we come here?” Xiao Wang thought about it and said with a smile, “It’s still nice to come and look, even if we can’t buy anything, we can still look.”
Hearing Xiao Wang’s words, Xiao Li thought they made a lot of sense. She said, “You’re right, going to the mall doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy things — looking around is nice too.” Xiao Wang nodded and said, “Right, and window-shopping can also help us relax.” Xiao Li smiled and said, “Then let’s go look at some other stores.” They continued walking around the mall, looking at many pretty things. Although they didn’t buy anything, they felt that the afternoon had been very pleasant.
After walking for a long time, Xiao Wang felt a bit thirsty and said, “Then let me treat you to a cola — that, I can afford.” Xiao Li was happy to hear this and said, “Sure, thank you!” They found a small shop, bought two cups of cola, sat on chairs in the mall, and chatted while drinking their colas. Xiao Li said, “Even though we didn’t buy anything expensive today, being able to shop, drink cola, and chat with you already makes me satisfied.” Xiao Wang smiled and said, “Me too. Money isn’t the most important thing — being happy is what really matters.”
音频
Audio recording for this story will be available here.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothing |
| 买不起 | mǎi bu qǐ | can’t afford to buy |
| 草莓 | cǎo méi | strawberry |
| 蛋糕 | dàn gāo | cake |
| 好吃 | hǎo chī | tasty |
| 块 | kuài | piece / yuan |
| 要 | yào | to want / to cost |
| 吃不起 | chī bu qǐ | can’t afford to eat |
| 那 | nà | then / in that case |
| 干嘛 | gàn má | what for? / why? |
| 请 | qǐng | to treat someone |
| 请得起 | qǐng de qǐ | can afford to treat |
V + 不 + 起 (negative potential complement) — “can’t afford to V”
Verb + 不 + 起 expresses that someone cannot afford (financially) to do the action of the verb.
太贵了，我们买不起。
一块要300块钱，我们吃不起。
V + 得起 (positive potential complement) — “can afford to V”
The positive form replaces 不 with 得 to show that an action is financially possible.
这个我请得起。
那我们来这里干嘛？(nà wǒmen lái zhèlǐ gànmá?) — “then why did we come here?”, a common rhetorical complaint used when an outing doesn’t go as planned.
Window-Shopping in China
逛街 (guàngjiē), or window-shopping, is a common social activity in Chinese cities, especially among friends and couples. Visiting a mall doesn’t necessarily mean buying something — looking at clothes, food, and other goods together is often treated as an enjoyable pastime in itself, similar to the sentiment in this lesson’s story.
