Shopping and bargaining
Asking the price, walking the line between firm and rude, and the small phrases that get you a fair deal in the souq — and the supermarket where bargaining is not a thing.
Bargaining in the Arab world is widely misunderstood by visitors. It is not universal: in supermarkets, malls, pharmacies, and most fixed-price shops, the price on the tag is the price you pay, and trying to negotiate will be politely refused or read as odd. Bargaining lives in the markets — the souqs, the antique stalls, the carpet and tourist-craft sellers, sometimes the small electronics or clothing shops in older commercial districts. It is also expected at small open-air vegetable markets, though the margins are tight and the give is usually small.
Within those settings, bargaining is a polite, structured ritual: the seller names a price, you offer a lower one, and you meet somewhere in the middle. Walking away (or pretending to) is part of the cadence; a final price often appears as you reach the door. Where you are clearly a foreigner the opening price will usually be inflated; the goal is to land on the local price, not to humiliate the seller. When a price is genuinely fixed — and the seller will say so — pushing further is rude.
Asking the price
How much?
بكم؟ / قدّيش؟
bikam? (Eg./Gulf) / addaysh? (Lev.)
Both are universally understood; using the local form earns a small smile.
How much is this?
بكم هاد؟ / هاد بكم؟
bikam haad?
How much for the whole thing?
بكم الكلّ؟
bikam il-kull?
How much per kilo / per piece?
بكم الكيلو؟ / بكم الحبّة؟
bikam il-kiilo? / bikam il-Habba?
Can you give me a final price?
آخر سعر؟
aakhir siʿr?
A polite cue that you are serious. The seller's "final" price is often still negotiable, but use this once you are within range.
Bargaining
Too expensive
غالي كتير / غالي قوي
ghaalii kthiir (Lev.) / ghaalii awii (Eg.)
Cheap / inexpensive
رخيص
rakhiiS
Can you make it less?
ممكن تنزّل السعر؟
mumkin tnazzil is-siʿr?
A discount, please
خصم من فضلك
khaSm min faDlak
I'll give you [number]
باعطيك [رقم]
baʿTiik [number]
My last price
آخر سعري
aakhir siʿrii
No, thank you (walking away)
لا شكراً
laa shukran
Said with a smile and a small wave. Walking is part of the ritual — if your offer is workable, the seller will call you back. If they don't, the offer was too low.
Looking, comparing, deciding
I'm just looking
عمّ أتفرّج بسّ
ʿamm atfarraj bass
Effective for declining sales pressure without being sharp. In Egyptian: babaSS bass.
Do you have something else?
في عندك شي تاني؟
fii ʿindak shii thaanii?
In another colour / size
بلون تاني / مقاس تاني
bi-loon thaanii / maqaas thaanii
Can I try it on?
ممكن أجرّبه؟
mumkin ajarrbu?
It's too big / too small
كبير كتير / صغير كتير
kbiir kthiir / Sghiir kthiir
Do you have it in another size?
عندك مقاس تاني؟
ʿindak maqaas thaanii?
I'll take it
رح آخده
raH aakhdo
I'll think about it
رح فكّر فيها
raH fakkir fiihaa
The polite version of "no." A seller will sometimes drop the price one more time on hearing this.
Paying
Cash or card?
كاش ولّا كرت؟
kaash wallaa kart?
Do you take cards?
بتقبلوا كرت؟
btiqbalu kart?
In smaller souqs and rural shops the answer is often no, or "yes but with a fee." Carry cash for markets.
Receipt, please
فاتورة من فضلك
faatuura min faDlak
Do you have change?
معك فكّة؟
maʿak fakka?
Small change is genuinely scarce in many countries. Asking before you commit saves a haggle over the receipt.
Useful nouns
Shop / store
محلّ / دكّان
maHall / dukkaan
Supermarket
سوبرماركت / محلّ كبير
supermaarket / maHall kbiir
Pharmacy
صيدليّة
Saydaliyya
Money / cash
فلوس / مصاري
fluus / maSaarii
Both mean "money" colloquially. fluus is more pan-Arab; maSaarii is Levantine and Egyptian.
Common mistakes
- Trying to bargain in a supermarket. Don't. Prices are fixed. Bargaining belongs in markets and small independent shops, not in chain stores.
- Pushing past a "final price" the seller has clearly meant. The cadence has a real end. When a seller says haadha aakhir siʿr, wa-Allaah ("this is the last price, by God"), the negotiation is over.
- Saying ghaalii with a sharp tone. "Expensive" is part of the bargaining vocabulary, not an insult. A flat or amused ghaalii kthiir works; a frustrated one reads as rude.
- Walking away with a final offer too low. If you mean to come back, your last price has to be plausible. Offering a third of the asking price and then trying to return at half-price will not work — the seller has already calibrated to you.