物美价廉

1. Basic Information

• Pinyin: wù měi jià lián
• English Translation: High quality at a low price (Good value for money)
• Idiom Composition: 「物」（Goods, products, or things.）＋「美」（Excellent or high quality (literally 'beautiful').）＋「价」（Price or cost.）＋「廉」（Inexpensive, cheap, or low-priced.）
• Meaning: A phrase used to describe goods that are of excellent quality while remaining inexpensive or reasonably priced.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「物美价廉」 contains the following nuances:

• The Ideal Consumer Choice: This idiom highlights the two most desirable traits for any buyer: high quality and a low price point, emphasizing that the consumer is getting a great deal.
• Everyday Praise: It is not reserved for luxury items; it is most commonly used for everyday goods like food, clothing, and household items to describe them as 'a steal' or 'a bargain.'

3. Usage

「物美价廉」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

• Shopping and Recommendations: Used as a standard phrase when recommending a store or product to others, or expressing satisfaction with a purchase.
  • Example:「这家超市的蔬菜不仅新鲜，而且物美价廉。」
    （The vegetables at this supermarket are not only fresh but also high quality and inexpensive.）
• Business and Marketing: Used in corporate slogans or sales strategies to emphasize a product's competitiveness in the market.
  • Example:「我们公司的宗旨是为客户提供物美价廉的产品。」
    （Our company's mission is to provide customers with products that are excellent in quality and reasonably priced.）

Additional Examples:

1. 大家都喜欢去那个夜市，因为那里的小吃物美价廉。
   （Everyone loves going to that night market because the snacks there are good and cheap.）
2. 想在市中心找到物美价廉的房子可不容易。
   （It is not easy to find an apartment in the city center that is both high quality and affordable.）
3. 网购虽然方便，但也要仔细挑选才能买到物美价廉的东西。
   （Although online shopping is convenient, you still need to choose carefully to find great value for your money.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

• The term appears in the writings of the Qing Dynasty (清朝) thinker Zheng Guanying (郑观应) in his work 'Words of Warning in a Prosperous Age' (盛世危言). He was a proponent of modernization and argued that if domestic Chinese goods were 物美价廉 (wù měi jià lián), they could successfully compete with foreign imports.
• The word order can be swapped to 价廉物美 (jià lián wù měi) without any change in meaning. Speakers often choose between the two based on the rhythm or flow of the sentence.
• In modern Chinese, the term 性价比高 (xìng jià bǐ gāo), meaning 'high cost-performance ratio' or 'good bang for the buck,' is also very popular. However, 物美价廉 (wù měi jià lián) remains the more traditional and idiomatic way to praise the balance of quality and price.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

• Similar Idioms:
  • 物超所值 (wù chāo suǒ zhí): The value of the item exceeds the price paid; worth more than it costs.
  • 价廉物美 (jià lián wù měi): A direct synonym of 物美价廉 (wù měi jià lián) with the characters for 'price' and 'goods' reversed.
• Opposite Idioms:
  • 米珠薪桂 (mǐ zhū xīn guì): Literally 'rice as dear as pearls and firewood as dear as cassia'; used to describe an exorbitant cost of living or extremely high prices.
  • 质次价高 (zhì cì jià gāo): Poor quality at a high price; the opposite of getting a good deal.
  • 得不偿失 (dé bù cháng shī): The losses outweigh the gains.link

6. Summary

物美价廉 (wù měi jià lián) is a frequently used idiom in both daily life and business contexts to describe products that offer great value. It literally means 'the goods are beautiful and the price is low,' making it the go-to expression for a 'good bargain' or 'high quality for a low price.' It can also be expressed as 价廉物美 (jià lián wù měi).