Lesson 9
Shopping and Markets
التسوق والأسواق
Navigate the market, ask prices, and complete transactions. Numbers and interrogatives work together in this highly practical unit.
Shopping Vocabulary
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
سُوقsūqmarket / bazaar
مَحَلّmaḥallshop / store
ثَمَن / سِعْرthaman / siʿrprice / cost
بِكَم؟bikam?How much (does it cost)?
غَالِي / رَخِيصghālī / rakhīṣexpensive / cheap
أَخُذ / أَشْتَرِيākhudh / ashtarīI will take / I will buy
بِكَمِ الْكِيلُو؟ بِعِشْرِينَ دِرْهَماً هَذَا غَالٍ، هَلْ يُمْكِنُ التَّخْفِيض؟
Bikam il-kīlū? Biʿishrīna dirhaman Hādhā ghālin, hal yumkinu t-takhfīḍ?
How much per kilo? Twenty dirhams That is expensive, is a discount possible?
سَآخُذُ خَمْسَةَ كِيلُوهَات مِنْ هَذَا
Sa-ākhudhu khamsat kīlūhāt min hādhā
I will take five kilos of this.
- Numbers 1–100: Arabic number gender polarity (3–10 use opposite gender to noun) is practised here with weights and prices.
- هَلْ يُمْكِن: Polite "is it possible?" essential for requests and negotiations.
- Future سَـ prefix: سَآخُذ = I will take near future attached directly to the present verb form.
- Islamic market: The traditional سُوق is a cornerstone of Islamic urban culture Medina, Istanbul, Marrakesh all built around the central market.