块儿八毛
kuài r bā máo
one yuan or less
around 80 cents or one dollar
chunk (块) + son (儿) + eight (八) + dime (毛) = a yuan, give or take
毛 is the colloquial unit worth one-tenth of a yuan, so eight of them nearly fills one 块. The phrase captures the casual Chinese way of saying 'a dollar or so' — pocket-change territory.
这个苹果才块儿八毛，很便宜。
zhè ge píng guǒ cái kuài r bā máo，hěn pián yi。
This apple costs only around a dollar, very cheap.
街边小吃块儿八毛就能买到一份。
jiē biān xiǎo chī kuài r bā máo jiù néng mǎi dào yī fèn。
Street snacks can be bought for around eighty cents to a dollar a portion.