Asking what someone paid for something
Informal Depends on context
What it really means
Asking the price of someone's house, rent, car or clothes can feel too personal in Britain, especially with people you don't know well. Between close friends it's sometimes fine. A safer way is to talk about prices in general: "Rent around here is so expensive, isn't it?"
Chinese explanation
在英国问别人房子、房租、车或衣服花了多少钱，可能显得太私人，尤其是不熟的人之间。关系很好的朋友有时可以问。更稳妥的说法是泛泛聊价格："这一带房租真贵，对吧？"
Example conversation
A: Can I ask how much your rent is? Sorry if that's nosy.
B: Ha, it's fine between us — it's about eight hundred a month.
A：我能问问你房租多少吗？冒昧的话抱歉。
B：哈，咱们之间没事——大概一个月八百镑。
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.
Related phrases
Go deeper
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Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team
· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake