The Most Useful Questions and Phrases For Shopping on Taobao

Taobao 淘宝 (Táobǎo) is the most famous online shopping platform in China. And it’s extremely popular among people of different age groups in that you can use Taobao app to purchase all kinds of things as long as you have a mobile phone and access to the internet. If you would also like to try purchasing things on Taobao, it would be a good idea to learn the following five questions and phrases that you might need when shopping on Taobao.

Chinese Questions For Shopping on Taobao

1. Is this one in stock?

这个有货吗?
Zhè gè yǒu huò ma?
Is this one in stock?

When you browse different products on Taobao, you might come across such a situation where some of the items displayed in the catalogue are not in stock. In order to make sure the shop owner has what you want, you can ask them this question in advance. The key word in this question is “货” (huò), which means “cargo or goods”.

2. When will my order be dispatched?

什么时候可以发货?
Shénme shíhou kěyǐ fā huò?
When will my order be dispatched?

Shop owners on Taobao receive a large number of orders every day. Therefore, sometimes they might not be able to send out the stuff you’ve ordered promptly. This question will come in handy if it happens to you. Above all, in order for you to better understand the meaning of this question, it would be a good idea to examine it word by word. “什么时候” (shénme shíhou) means “when”, “可以” (kěyǐ) means “can, may”, and “发货” (fā huò) means “to dispatch cargo”.

Here are some possible answers to this question:

明天
míngtiān
tomorrow

星期三
xīngqīsān
Wednesday

两天以后
liǎng tiān yǐhòu
in two days

3. When will I be able to receive my order?

几天可以到?
Jǐ tiān kěyǐ dào?
When will I be able to receive my order?

If you urgently need something that you’ve just purchased on Taobao, you might want to ask the shop owner when you will be able to receive your order. To clarify, the literal meaning of this question is “In how many days will my order arrive?”, in which “到” (dào) means “to arrive”. In most cases shop owners on Taobao can only give you a rough idea of when your order will arrive. However, you should be able to receive what you’ve bought on Taobao within two or three days after you order has been dispatched.

4. Can I change it to a white one?

可以换白色的吗?
Kěyǐ huàn báisè de ma?
Can I change it to a white one?

If you are not happy with the size or color of what you’ve bought on Taobao, it’s acceptable to change it to another one. The verb “to change/exchange” is “换” (huàn) in Chinese. Moreover, another possible question you might ask the shop owners on Taobao in the future could be:

可以换大号的吗?
Kěyǐ huàn dàhào de ma?
Can I change it to size L?

Other useful words related to the size and color:

红色
hóngsè
red

黑色
hēisè
black

蓝色
lánsè
blue

绿色
lǜsè
green

黄色
huángsè
yellow

粉色
fěnsè
pink

灰色
huīsè
grey

中号
zhōnghào
size M

小号
xiǎohào
size S

Chinese Phrases For Shopping on Taobao

5. You sent me the wrong stuff.

你发错了。
Nǐ fā cuò le.
You sent me the wrong stuff.

People make mistakes from time to time. Shop owners on Taobao have to deal with a large number of orders daily. Therefore, sometimes they might send their customers the wrong stuff. In case that happens to you in the future, one of the most useful Chinese phrases you need is “你发错了” (nǐ fā cuò le), which means “you sent out the wrong stuff”. In addition, the key structure in this phrase is “verb + 错了(cuò le)”, which means “made a mistake”. This is a very flexible structure as different verbs can be used to describe different actions. For example:

我说错了。
Wǒ shuō cuò le.
I said it wrong.

我买错了。
Wǒ mǎi cuò le.
I bought the wrong stuff.

We hope these phrases and questions will be useful and help you next time you’re shopping on Taobao. To find out more interesting phrases and questions in Chinese, check out one of our blog posts 5 Small Talk Phrases in Chinese