Đắt, rẻ, vừa — Talking about price and value

What you will learn

After asking the price, you need to react to it. Vietnamese uses đắt and rẻ very directly, but real judgments are often softened or qualified.

1. Đắt — expensive

• Cái này đắt. — This is expensive.
• Hơi đắt. — A little expensive.
• Đắt quá! — So/too expensive!
• Không đắt lắm. — Not very expensive.

2. Rẻ — inexpensive/cheap in price

• Cái này rẻ.
• Rẻ hơn cái kia. — Cheaper than that one.
• Khá rẻ. — Fairly inexpensive.

Rẻ by itself primarily describes a low price. It does not automatically mean poor quality.

3. Rẻ and rẻ tiền are not identical

Compare:

• Cái áo này rẻ. — This shirt is inexpensive.
• Trông hơi rẻ tiền. — It looks a bit cheap/tacky/low-grade, depending on context.

Rẻ tiền can carry a negative judgment about quality, appearance or taste. Do not use it as a harmless synonym for rẻ.

4. Vừa phải — moderate/reasonable

For price:

• Giá vừa phải. — The price is moderate/reasonable.
• Giá cũng vừa phải. — The price is fairly reasonable.

The master-plan keyword vừa appears naturally in fuller expressions such as vừa phải and vừa túi tiền, rather than as a universal standalone opposite of đắt/rẻ.

5. Vừa túi tiền — affordable for someone

Vừa túi tiền literally evokes something fitting one’s pocket/budget:

• Cái này vừa túi tiền. — This is affordable / within budget.
• Giá này vừa túi tiền với tôi. — This price is manageable for me.

Affordability is relative to the person; it is not the same as objectively “cheap”.

6. Hơi, khá, quá, lắm

Degree words let you avoid all-or-nothing judgments:

• hơi đắt
• khá rẻ
• đắt quá
• không rẻ lắm

This is the same Vietnamese system you used for taste and personal description.

7. A short shopping conversation

Khách: Cái này bao nhiêu chị?

Người bán: 450 nghìn.

Khách: Hơi đắt chị ha.

Người bán: Loại này tốt hơn em.

Khách: Còn cái kia?

Người bán: 320 nghìn.

Khách: Giá này hợp lý hơn.

8. “Đắt quá” can be reaction or negotiation

Đắt quá! can simply express surprise, but in a market interaction it may also signal that the buyer is not comfortable with the price and open space for negotiation.

Do not assume every use automatically begins bargaining; context and type of shop matter.

9. Giá tốt

You may hear commercial phrases such as giá tốt — a good price.

It is common sales language, but it does not objectively prove that the price is low. Learners should separate language meaning from marketing claims.

10. Đắt/rẻ compared with hơn

• Cái này đắt hơn. — This one is more expensive.
• Cái kia rẻ hơn. — That one is cheaper.
• Cái nào rẻ hơn? — Which one is cheaper?

B60 will develop size comparison more fully, but the comparison pattern already works here.

11. Useful vocabulary

• đắt — expensive
• rẻ — inexpensive/cheap in price
• rẻ tiền — cheap/low-grade/tacky, potentially negative
• vừa phải — moderate/reasonable
• vừa túi tiền — affordable/within budget
• giá tốt — good price, common commercial phrase
• hơi — slightly
• khá — fairly

12. Vietnam in real life

Price discussion varies by venue. A fixed-price supermarket, department store, mall shop, online listing and traditional market do not create the same expectations about negotiation. Learn the price words first; the social rules of bargaining belong to the B61 market integration lesson.

13. Common beginner mistakes

• Using rẻ tiền when you only mean inexpensive.
• Using bare vừa as though it were always a direct price adjective.
• Assuming đắt quá always means a formal request for a discount.
• Assuming giá tốt is an objective factual guarantee.

Try it

1. Say that something is a little expensive.
2. Say that another item is cheaper.
3. Say that a price is reasonable.
4. Explain the difference between rẻ and rẻ tiền.

Quick recap

Đắt and rẻ describe price. Vừa phải and vừa túi tiền express moderation or affordability. Degree words let Vietnamese speakers make the judgment less absolute.