Comparing prices

Preise vergleichen

Compare two books by price, ask which costs less, and state which one you choose.

Use the familiar noun das Buch as the context for all four expressions. Günstiger and billiger describe a lower price here; teurer describes a higher price. Welches and dieses refer to the neuter book. Price alone does not say which item is better.

Das Buch was introduced earlier. With that neuter reference, ask Welches ist günstiger? and answer Dieses ist billiger. The form depends on the noun, so Welcher ist günstiger? is not always wrong outside this book context.

Compare two fictional price labels. Point clearly so this one and the other one have a reference. Günstig can have other meanings elsewhere; here it describes price. No actual buying advice is being given.

Do not call welcher universally ungrammatical: it can refer to a masculine item. Here the shared noun is das Buch. Keep lower price separate from quality and from the decision to buy.

Lower price: günstiger or billiger. Higher price: teurer. Choice: Ich nehme ... . These comparisons do not give an exact price or identify the cheapest item in a larger group.

Swap the two fictional price labels and retell the comparison. The chosen expression must follow the prices, not the position of a card. Keep the familiar book reference and the same grammatical level.