这里的折读she2,不读zhe2.
When you go shopping in China, you will find the most frequently-used word is
“打折(da3 zhe2)”. It is concerned with your daily communication. So, as a
Chinese teacher, let me explain the exact meaning and usage of this word.
“打折” previously refers to “give a discount”. However, many people did
not know how to express it correctly.
Last Sunday, Tom’s Chinese tutor bought a new handbag. And she told Tom the
previous price of it is 1000 yuan and she bought is at a price of “三折(san1
zhe2)”. And them, she asked Tom how much the bag was on earth. Tom felt a
little puzzled. He did not know how to figure out the number when it comes to
“三折(san1 zhe2)”. Actually, it is the most common expression in selling. “
三折” actually means “giving a discount of 70 percent”. If we say “五折
(wu3 zhe2)”, that means the half price. “六折(liu4 zhe2)” refers to 40
percent discount. And then, it may be easy to figure out the other discount
in Chinese.
However, the usage of this word is not that simple, because it is a
polyphonic word. That is to say, it has another pronunciation and of course
another meaning. When you begin to start learning, your Mandarin teacher must
have taught you “折(zhe2)” can be pronounced as “she2”. So “打折” can
be read as “da3 she2” sometimes, which stands for a totally different
meaning. In this way, the word means “make something broken”.
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