This post will give you lots of phrases and vocabulary to help you when shopping in India. Whether you’re bargaining at one of India’s many markets or asking for the price in a shop. This guide will give you all the key phrases and words you need whilst shopping in India.
By the end of the lesson you’ll be able to say ‘How much is this?’ in Hindi and much more.
Let’s begin with a few key words:
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| Price/Cost | Daam |
| What | Kya |
| Rupee | Rupay |
| Please | Kripya |
| Thank you | Dhanyavaad |
Notes:
Rupee is the currency of India.
How To Ask ‘How Much Is This?’ In Hindi
When in a shop in India, you may want to ask how much something costs. Here are a few ways you can ask this:
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| What is the price? | Kya daam hai? |
| How much is this? | Yeh kitne ka hai? |
| What is the price of this kurta? | Kurte ka kya daam hai? |
| How much is this apple? | Yeh seb kitne ka hai? |
Notes:
A kurta is a loose collarless shirt worn by many people in India.
The word ‘Seb’ means apple.
The word ‘hai’ is pronounced like the English word ‘hey’.
How To Say How Much Something Costs In Hindi
Here is how to say how much something costs. You will often here shopkeepers using this phrase.
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| It costs … rupees. | Yeh … rupay ka hai. |
| It costs 500 rupees. | Yeh panch sau rupay ka hai. |
| It costs 1000 rupees. | Yeh ek hazar rupay ka hai. |
Numbers In Hindi
It would be really useful to learn some common numbers in Hindi to help you understand prices. Here is a table of the most common numbers used in pricings:
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ek |
| 2 | Do |
| 3 | Teen |
| 4 | Char |
| 5 | Panch |
| 6 | Cheh |
| 7 | Saat |
| 8 | Aath |
| 9 | Nao |
| 10 | Das |
| 50 | Pachas |
| 100 | Ek sau |
| 200 | Do sau |
| 300 | Teen sau |
| 400 | Char sau |
| 500 | Panch sau |
| 600 | Cheh sau |
| 700 | Saat sau |
| 800 | Aath sau |
| 900 | Nao sau |
| 1000 | Ek hazar |
Bargaining or Haggling In Hindi
Often shopkeepers will quote a really high price in the hope that you’ll pay it – this can sometimes be 4 to 5 times higher than the actual price. It is commonplace to bargain or haggle for the price. Some good phrases to use in these situations are:
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| That is too much. | Yeh to bahut zyaada hai. |
| It’s too expensive. | Yah bahut mehenga hai. |
| Lower the price. | Daam kum kijiye. |
| Can you give me a discount? | Kya aap mujhe kuchh diskaunt de sakate hain? |
Useful Shopping Phrases
Here are some additional phrases that will come in useful when shopping.
| English | Hindi |
|---|---|
| Excuse me | Maaf kijiye |
| I like this. | Mujhe pasand hai. |
| I don’t like this. | Mujhe pasand nahi hai. |
| What is this? | Ye kya hai? |
| I want it. | Mujhe yah chaahiye. |
| I don’t want it. | Mujhe nahi chaahiye. |
| Can you help me? | Kya aap meri madaad karenge. |
| Do you have any … ? | Kya aapke paas … hai? |
| Can I look at it? | Kya main ise dekh sakta hoon? |
| May I try it on? | Kya main ise pahan kar dekh sakta hoon? |
| I’m just looking. | Main bas dekh rahee hoon. |
I hope this lesson on shopping vocabulary and shopping phrases in Hindi was useful! Try these out on your next trip to India.
Make sure you check out my other Hindi lesson posts to learn more.
