affordable

Compared meaning: low in price (adjective).

比较义项：价格低，花费的钱不多（形容词）。

• cheap

  The everyday, informal word for low price; it often implies the thing is poor in quality or feels low-value, so calling a person or object 'cheap' can sound like an insult.

  日常口语中表示价格低的常见词；常暗示东西质量差、不值钱，所以说一个人或物品“cheap”也可能带有贬低的意味。

  The tourist trap sold cheap souvenirs that fell apart within a week.

  这家旅游陷阱式商店卖的廉价纪念品用了一周就散架了。

• affordable 本词

  Emphasizes that ordinary buyers can manage the price, not that the price is low in absolute terms; common with housing, cars, or insurance, and carries a positive, practical tone.

  强调普通人负担得起，而不是价格绝对低；常与住房、汽车、保险等搭配使用，语气正面、务实。

  The city promised to build more affordable housing near the new subway line.

  市政府承诺在新地铁线附近建更多经济适用房。

• inexpensive

  A neutral, somewhat more formal synonym for cheap that avoids any hint of poor quality; often used to praise good value, especially for food or services.

  是 cheap 的中性、较正式的同义词，不含“质量差”的暗示；常用来称赞物有所值，尤其是餐饮或服务方面。

  The critic praised the small café for its inexpensive yet delicious lunch menu.

  这位美食评论家称赞这家小咖啡馆的午餐菜单价格实惠又美味。

Cheap, affordable, and inexpensive all mean low in price, but tone differs. Cheap is informal, but implies poor quality, so it can sound insulting. Affordable stresses ordinary buyers can manage the price. Inexpensive is neutral and formal, without a hint of poor quality.

这三个词都表示价钱不高，但语气和侧重不同：cheap 最口语化，常暗示“质量差、不值钱”，带贬义；affordable 强调“一般人负担得起”，语气正面，常用于住房、保险等大宗消费；inexpensive 是较正式、中性的说法，只说价格低，不含贬义。这里不比较 cheap 表示“卑鄙的、不光彩的”（如 a cheap trick）等引申义。