On chine ensemble samedi ?

In this sentence, on means we.

That is very common in everyday spoken French. Although on can also mean one, people, or someone in other contexts, here it clearly means we because the sentence is about doing something together.

So:

• On chine ensemble samedi ? = Are we going bargain-hunting together on Saturday?

Because on always takes third-person singular verb forms, even when it means we.

So:

• on chine not
• on chinons

This is one of the first things English speakers have to get used to with on:

• meaning: often we
• grammar: still he/she/it style verb agreement

Compare:

• Nous chinons = we bargain-hunt
• On chine = we bargain-hunt

Both can mean the same thing, but on chine is much more common in everyday conversation.

Chiner usually means something like:

• to go looking for interesting second-hand items
• to browse flea markets, brocantes, antique shops, or thrift-type places
• to hunt for bargains or vintage finds

It is not just a generic shop verb. It has a specific feel of searching around for old, unusual, or inexpensive objects.

So chiner is closer to:

• to go bargain-hunting
• to go thrift shopping
• to browse for antiques / second-hand finds

depending on context.

Yes. This is a very normal spoken French yes/no question.

French often forms casual questions just by using a statement word order and raising the intonation at the end:

• On chine ensemble samedi ?

That is very natural in conversation.

Other possible versions are:

• Est-ce qu’on chine ensemble samedi ? → a bit more neutral/explicit
• Chine-t-on ensemble samedi ? → grammatically possible, but quite formal and not very natural here

So the version you have is everyday spoken French.

Yes, it sounds casual and conversational.

Two things make it feel informal:

• the use of on instead of nous
• the question formed by intonation rather than a more formal structure

That does not mean it is wrong. It is actually the kind of French you are very likely to hear in real life.

Ensemble means together.

It is an adverb, and here it tells you that the action of chiner is being done together:

• On chine ensemble = We’re bargain-hunting together

Its position is very natural after the verb.

Because that is the most natural placement here.

French often puts adverbs like ensemble after the verb:

• On mange ensemble
• On part ensemble
• On chine ensemble

You might sometimes see a slightly different order in other sentences, but in this one, On chine ensemble samedi ? sounds smooth and idiomatic.

French usually does not use a preposition before days of the week in this kind of sentence.

So:

• samedi = on Saturday

This is normal French:

• On se voit mardi ? = Shall we see each other on Tuesday?
• Tu travailles jeudi ? = Are you working on Thursday?
• On chine samedi ? = Are we going bargain-hunting on Saturday?

Because samedi without le usually refers to a specific Saturday, often the coming one.

• samedi = this Saturday / on Saturday
• le samedi = on Saturdays / every Saturday in general

Compare:

• On chine samedi ? = Are we going bargain-hunting on Saturday?
• On chine le samedi. = We go bargain-hunting on Saturdays.

So leaving out le changes the meaning from habitual to specific.

Yes, you could say:

• Nous chinons ensemble samedi ?

That is grammatical, but it sounds less natural in everyday spoken French. Native speakers very often prefer on in conversation.

So:

• On chine ensemble samedi ? → most natural in speech
• Nous chinons ensemble samedi ? → correct, but a bit less conversational

A rough pronunciation is:

ohn sheen ahn-sahmbl sam-dee?

A few points:

• on has a nasal vowel; it is not pronounced like English on
• chine sounds like sheen
• ensemble begins with a nasal en
• samedi is often pronounced samdi in everyday speech, with the middle vowel reduced or dropped

A more IPA-style version would be approximately:

/ɔ̃ ʃin ɑ̃sɑ̃bl samdi/

Yes. French is fairly flexible with time expressions like this.

You could also hear:

• On chine samedi ensemble ?
• Samedi, on chine ensemble ?

But On chine ensemble samedi ? is perfectly natural.

Placing samedi at the end is common because French often puts time information toward the end of the sentence unless the speaker wants to emphasize it.

Not necessarily. It depends on tone and context.

It could mean:

• a suggestion: Shall we go bargain-hunting together on Saturday?
• a confirmation: We’re going bargain-hunting together on Saturday, right?
• a tentative plan: Are we doing that together on Saturday?

So the exact nuance comes from the situation and the speaker’s intonation.