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Man, it's hot in here
Welcome back to the show
Now, you've probably learned how to say the words “Cheap” and “Expensive”
but what if something is just “a little cheap”
Or it's “Super Cheap”?
A little bit expensive
Or “Really Really Expensive”
What are you supposed to call those things?
Keep watching because today we are going to learn some new ways to talk about
Cheap and Expensive
And make your English sound more natural and more native
Ok wait!
Stop!
Before we talk about “Cheap” or “Expensive”
We need to know what to call “Money”
For Americans the most common is either “Dollars” or “Bucks”
Both are okay
For example, how much are these kicks (sneakers)?
Two hundred bucks
How much is that house over there?
A million dollars
Alright, now that you're comfortable with “Dollars” and “Bucks”
We can now learn different levels of of “Cheap” and “Expensive”
For this example, we are going to use my favorite: Coconut Strawberry Bubble Tea
The average price of bubble tea in the US is about three dollars, give or take
So if you go to a shop and they charge, say, two fifty
Then you can say, “Hey that's not bad”
I really like this bubble tea shop.
The prices aren't bad
Or “That's pretty good
Or if you want to be more specific you can say
“That's not a bad price” or “That's a pretty good price”
Hey I like this bubble tea shop, the prices are pretty good
Now maybe you want it to be even cheaper
So you walk down the street
And this shop charges two dollars
So you can say “Hey, that's a good deal”
How much is the bubble tea again?
Two dollars?
That's a good deal
Or, “That's a bargain”
How much is the bubble tea here?
Two bucks?
Wow, that's a bargain
But
BUT!!!
Maybe that's still not cheap enough for you
So you walk down the street again
And you get to the last shop.
And they only charge a buck for a bubble tea
So you can say “That's a steal!”
How much is the bubble tea here?
A dollar?!
Dang that's a steal
It's called “A steal” because it's so cheap it's almost like you stole it
Another phrase you can say is “It costs almost nothing” or “It costs next to nothing”
Almost free basically
How much is the bubble tea here?
Just a buck??
Wow that costs almost nothing!
How much is the bubble tea here?
A buck?!
Dang that's next to nothing
Ok now, what if a shop charges more than three dollars?
It's time to learn some new ways to say expensive
If a shop charges a little bit more, maybe three fifty instead of three dollars
Then you can say, “Ooo that's kind of pricey”
Pricey is like a little bit more expensive but not really expensive
How much is the bubble tea here?
three fifty?!
Mmm seems kind of pricey but I'm too lazy to go next door so I'll take it
Or some places, if they're really really greedy, they might charge four dollars for
a bubble tea
And if they're charging four dollars for a bubble tea
Then you can say, “Wow that is steep!”
How much is the bubble tea here?
four dollars?! four dollars for a bubble tea?
Wow that's pretty steep
Steep you can use for something that is more expensive, but not quite super expensive
But wait, some places will charge even more than that
What if they charge five dollars for a bubble tea?
That's a ripoff
How much again?
five dollars? what a ripoff!
I'm not gonna pay that.
No one's gonna pay that
Or you can also say it costs an arm and a leg
Meaning, it's so expensive, you have to chop off your body parts and give it to them
Hey, this place is pretty good, but they charge an arm and a leg.
I would suggest going somewhere else
I know, it sounds weird, but I don't make these words up, I just teach 'em
Alright here are the words againnnnn
And remember, don't just watch the video
That's the lazy way out
You have to practice saying it
Practice at home
Make sentences.
Talk to other native speakers
Or, here's a good way to practice
Next time you're out window shopping
Just go to different stores and think about it in your head
That looks steep.
Or that looks like a steal.
Or that looks like a ripoff!
But Just think about it though.
Don't actually tell the owner, “Hey this is a ripoff”
You're going to offend them
And there are tons, tons more ways to say “Cheap” and “Expensive”
I just picked a few of the common ones that most people use
If you do know some other ones, leave me comment.
Maybe I'll learn a word or two from you