What is the unit price?

The single most common message in a Chinese supplier’s WeChat inbox is some variation of “how much?” The phrase 单价是多少 (dānjià shì duōshao) is the clean, professional version of that question. It specifies unit price rather than total price, which matters because Chinese suppliers will often answer a vague price question with the total for whatever quantity you just discussed — and if you did not discuss quantity, they will ask you for one before giving any price at all.

Price inquiries in Chinese have an unwritten structure that most international buyers miss. The first price you get is almost never the real price. Chinese suppliers expect negotiation, and the opening quote often includes negotiation room — sometimes 5-10% for standard products, sometimes more for custom items. This is not dishonesty; it is a cultural expectation that the first number is the opening position in a conversation, not the final answer. Responding to a quote with 有点贵 (yǒudiǎn guì — a bit expensive) or 能不能便宜点 (néng bù néng piányi diǎn — can it be cheaper) is not just acceptable — it is expected. A supplier who receives immediate acceptance of their first quote may even worry they underpriced.

When asking for pricing, specificity is leverage. A vague “what’s the price?” gets a vague answer. A specific “500 pieces, with our logo, FOB Ningbo, what’s the unit price?” gets a number you can actually use. This means you need to know the right Chinese terms to attach to your price inquiry. 含税不含税 (hán shuì bù hán shuì — tax included or not), FOB/EXW/CIF (these terms are used as-is in Chinese business English), 含包装 (hán bāozhuāng — including packaging), and 含运费 (hán yùnfèi — including shipping). Each of these qualifiers takes your price inquiry from a casual chat to a business conversation, and Chinese suppliers will take you more seriously for it. The supplier who gives you a number without asking any clarifying questions is giving you a number you should not trust.

One final piece of practical advice: when you receive a unit price in Chinese, check whether it uses 点 (diǎn) as a decimal separator. The number 3.5 will be written as 3.5 or spoken as 三点五 (sān diǎn wǔ), which is straightforward. But in some informal contexts, especially voice messages or hastily typed WeChat messages, prices may be abbreviated — 35 might mean 3.5 if the context is clear that the unit is in a certain range. When in any doubt, confirm the number in digits and the currency explicitly: 是人民币3.5元一个，对吗? (shì rénmínbì sān diǎn wǔ yuán yī gè, duì ma? — it’s 3.5 RMB per piece, right?). This small confirmation step has prevented more pricing disasters than any contract clause.