At ease, comfortable, or convenient through change. Convenient (biàn); then / just; cheap or advantageous (pián). A person (亻) plus change (更): someone adjusting things to make life easier.
便宜 already means 'cheap'; adding 很 is redundant and unnatural in most contexts.
便 alone never means 'cheap'; the meaning 'cheap' only appears in the fixed word 便宜.
便 and 就 are often interchangeable, but 便 is more formal and common in writing.
Both 便 and 就 can mean 'then' or 'in that case', but 便 is slightly more formal and frequently used in written Chinese. In everyday speech, 就 is more natural. For HSK 1, focus on 就 for spoken contexts and recognize 便 in reading.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Spoken | 我就去。 | 我便去。 (too formal) |
| Written | 他便离开了。 | 他就离开了。 (less formal) |
便宜 is a special case where 便 is read pián, not biàn.
The character 便 has two readings: biàn (convenient, then) and pián (only in 便宜, meaning cheap). 便宜 is the only common word where 便 is read pián. Remember it as a fixed expression.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning cheap | 便宜 (piányi) | 便谊 (wrong characters) |
| Meaning convenient | 方便 (fāngbiàn) | 方便 (fāngpián) (wrong pronunciation) |
This short, simple story follows a shopper's trip to the supermarket to buy apples. You'll learn useful vocabulary for shopping, prices, and comparing things.
大苹果很 便宜 ，小苹果很贵。
This is a short dialogue about a shopping trip. A woman buys many things, including food, drinks, furniture, and pet food, while her boyfriend reminds her not to overspend.
那些桌子、椅子什么的，这个星期都 便宜了 ，都不贵。”
Follow a traveler's unexpected hospital stay in China, where counting days and costs becomes practical learning. Practice numbers, dates, food prices, and simple descriptions of a doctor and room.
看病非常贵，吃饭不 便宜 。
Meet Xiao Shang, who is heading back to Shanghai. She compares two ways to travel and tells us why she prefers the slower one. This story helps you practice comparing transportation in simple Chinese.
坐火车比坐飞机 便宜 得多，去飞机场也要花很多时间，所以，小商觉得坐火车比坐飞机好。
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