How do I say 'pay'?
The most common payment word in daily life — reflects the reality that most transactions in China are QR-based.
扫码
Pay by scanning the QR code.
Scan the code.
Pay by scanning the QR code.
WHEN IT FITS
China’s payment landscape is dominated by QR codes, and the vocabulary reflects this. 扫码 (scan the code) is the everyday word for “pay” — you hear it more than 付款, which is the formal term.
The two-sided QR ritual: in most transactions, either you scan the vendor’s QR code (你扫我 — literally “you scan me”), or the vendor scans a QR code on your phone (我扫你). The phrase 我扫你还是你扫我 clarifies who initiates. Small shops and street vendors usually display their QR code for you to scan; supermarkets scan your payment code.
WeChat Pay (微信支付) and Alipay (支付宝) are the two giants, and they are not interchangeable — some vendors only accept one. Asking 微信还是支付宝？(“WeChat or Alipay?”) before trying to pay avoids awkwardness.
Cash is increasingly rare. Some younger Chinese carry no cash at all. If you are visiting, setting up WeChat Pay or Alipay before arriving removes a significant daily friction. The phrase 现金行不行？(“Is cash okay?”) is worth knowing as a backup.
HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAY IT
我扫码，还是你扫码？
Should I scan your code, or will you scan mine?
Negotiating who initiates payment扫这里就行了。
Just scan here.
Vendor pointing to their QR codeCHOOSE BY SITUATION
微信支付
WeChat Pay.
Specifying the payment method — 我用微信支付刷卡
Swipe card.
Paying by bank card — increasingly less common than QR现金
Cash.
Paying with physical money — some small vendors still prefer this