Splitting the Bill | AA制

In the past, paying the bill at a Chinese restaurant often involved a loud, friendly argument over who got the honor of treating the group. Today, mobile payments have made “going Dutch” (AA制) incredibly smooth and socially acceptable. In this story, we’ll see exactly how a group of friends uses WeChat to instantly split the cost of a hot pot dinner.

*Note: The final paragraph pushes into HSK 5 territory to discuss the social impact of technology. Don’t worry if you need to tap the words to translate them!

Back to Library HSK 4
Tap any word to reveal Pinyin & Meaning.
晚上 wǎn shang Evening
下班 xià bān Get off work
后 hòu After
，
我 wǒ I
和 hé And/With
几个 jǐ gè A few
好朋友 hǎo péng you Good friends
一起 yì qǐ Together
去 qù Went
了 le (Past)
一家 yì jiā One (MW for stores)
有名 yǒu míng Famous
的 de (Adj)
火锅店 huǒ guō diàn Hot pot restaurant
。
大家 dà jiā Everyone
很久 hěn jiǔ Long time
没 méi Not
见面 jiàn miàn Meet
了 le (Change)
，
所以 suǒ yǐ So
聊 liáo Chat
得 de (Complement)
非常 fēi cháng Extremely
开心 kāi xīn Happy
。
After work in the evening, I went to a famous hot pot restaurant with a few good friends. Everyone hadn't seen each other for a long time, so we chatted very happily.
Locked
吃 chī Eat
完 wán Finish
饭 fàn Meal
，
服务员 fú wù yuán Waiter
拿来 ná lái Bring
了 le (Past)
账单 zhàng dān Bill
。
这 zhè This
顿 dùn (MW for meals)
饭 fàn Meal
一共 yí gòng Altogether
花 huā Spend
了 le (Past)
三百 sān bǎi Three hundred
块 kuài Bucks/Yuan
钱 qián Money
。
在 zài In
中国 zhōng guó China
，
年轻人 nián qīng rén Young people
和 hé And/With
朋友 péng you Friends
一起 yì qǐ Together
吃饭 chī fàn Eat
时 shí Time/When
，
最 zuì Most
喜欢 xǐ huan Like
的 de (Adj)
方式 fāng shì Method/Way
是 shì Is
“
AA制 AA zhì Going Dutch
”
，
也 yě Also
就是 jiù shì That is
平摊 píng tān Split equally
费用 fèi yòng Cost/Expense
。

Want to finish this story?

Unlock the full story, neural audio, and Pinyin support.

Unlock All Readers

Take Your Reading to the Next Level

Unlock the interactive flashcard deck for this story—and every story in the library—by joining the RecallGrid Reader's Club or purchasing the Mastery Bundle.

Explore Memberships