Latest / Learn Amharic with Fexingo / Amharic at the Market - Negotiating Price
Transcript
- Lucas: Okay, Luna, ready for another episode? I think we've covered a lot at the market — buying vegetables, fruits, bread... but there's one thing we haven't touched. Luna: Oh, what's that? I thought we were market experts by now. Lucas: Almost! But have you ever tried to negotiate the price? In Ethiopian markets, it's common to bargain a little. Luna: Ooh, that's a good skill to have. I'd probably just pay whatever they ask. Teach me! Lucas: Alright, first, you need to ask the price. You already know 'ስንት ነው?' but let's learn another way: 'ምን ያህል ነው?' which also means 'how much is it?' Luna: ምን ያህል ነው? That's a mouthful. Let me try: ምን ያህል ነው? Lucas: Perfect! Now, if you think it's too expensive, you can say 'ውድ ነው' – 'it's expensive.' Luna: ውድ ነው. That sounds like 'wood' but with a 'd' at the end. ውድ ነው. Lucas: Exactly. And then you can ask them to lower the price: 'እባክህ አውርድ' – 'please lower it.' Luna: እባክህ አውርድ. That's a lot of syllables! እባክህ አውርድ. Did I get it? Lucas: Almost. 'እባክህ' is 'please,' and 'አውርድ' is 'lower.' Put them together: እባክህ አውርድ. Luna: እባክህ አውርድ. Got it. And if they agree, I can say 'ርካሽ አደረገ' – 'you made it cheap'? Lucas: Close! 'ርካሽ አደረገ' means 'he/she made it cheap.' But you can also say 'አመሰግናለሁ' – 'thank you.' Let's practice a little scene. I'm the seller. Luna: Okay. Hi, ምን ያህል ነው? Lucas: Fifty birr. Luna: ውድ ነው! እባክህ አውርድ. Lucas: Okay, forty birr. Luna: ርካሽ አደረገ! አመሰግናለሁ. Lucas: Excellent! You're a natural bargainer. Now, let's practice the phrases again. Repeat after me: ምን ያህል ነው? Luna: ምን ያህል ነው? Lucas: ውድ ነው. Luna: ውድ ነው. Lucas: እባክህ አውርድ. Luna: እባክህ አውርድ. Lucas: ርካሽ አደረገ. Luna: ርካሽ አደረገ. Lucas: You know, it's listeners like you who make these episodes possible. We keep the show ad-free and free to access, and that's thanks to your support. Luna: Yeah, if today's episode was useful to you, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps. Lucas: So back to bargaining: imagine you're at a market in Addis. You see a nice scarf. You ask the price: ምን ያህል ነው? Luna: ምን ያህል ነው? And they say 200 birr. I say ውድ ነው. Lucas: Then you say እባክህ አውርድ. Luna: እባክህ አውርድ. They say 150. I say ርካሽ አደረገ! Lucas: Perfect! You just saved 50 birr. Let's do a quick review of all the phrases one more time. Luna: Good idea. ምን ያህል ነው? – how much is it? Lucas: ውድ ነው – it's expensive. Luna: እባክህ አውርድ – please lower it. Lucas: ርካሽ አደረገ – you made it cheap. Luna: That's a great set. I feel ready to hit the market now. Lucas: I'm proud of you. Practice these until next time, and happy bargaining! Luna: See you next episode!