Shopping in Lebanese is not one list of nouns with بدي “I want” in front. A real exchange moves through recognizable actions: establish what is available, identify the item, ask to inspect or try it, settle the price, then buy or close the encounter. Each action has its own reusable frame (informal or polite-service spoken Lebanese).
The urban Beirut baseline here uses هاد hād and هاي hāy. Common Lebanese هيدا hayda and هيدي hayde are labeled in the variation section rather than mixed unpredictably into the dialogues. Bargaining is also setting-dependent: it can be expected in some markets and independent shops, but a marked price in a supermarket, chain, pharmacy, or fixed-price boutique is not automatically an invitation to negotiate.
The transaction map
| Action | Productive Lebanese frame | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| ask availability | في عندكن ...؟ fī ʿindkon...? | item, color, or size |
| ask to see | فيني شوف ...؟ fīne shūf...? | the item or an alternative |
| ask to try | فيني جربه/جربها؟ fīne zharrbo/zharrba? | suffix agrees with the item |
| ask price | قديش حق ...؟ ʾaddēsh ḥaʾʾ...? | noun phrase naming the item |
| request another option | عندكن ... أكبر/أصغر؟ ʿindkon... akbar/aṣghar? | size, color, quantity |
| negotiate | إذا أخدت ...، بتعمللي سعر أحسن؟ | condition plus requested concession |
| decline | شكرا، بدي فكر شوي. shokran, badde fakker shwayy | brief reason is optional |
This map matters because English hides several Lebanese choices. “Do you have...?” is not built with a verb meaning do. “Can I try it?” needs an object suffix whose gender refers to the item. “How much?” uses قديش, while the amount paid can be introduced with بـ: بقديش أخدته؟ “How much did you get it for?”
Availability and identifying the item
Use في عندكن...؟ or simply عندكن...؟ when addressing shop staff. The plural suffix ـكن can politely address the business as a team even when one employee is present. With someone you know or a very small stall, singular عندك is also possible (informal).
في عندكن هاي البلوزة بلون أغمق؟
fī ʿindkon hāy el-blūze b-lōn aghmaʾ?
Do you have this blouse in a darker color? (polite-service, addressing the shop)
عم بدور على هدية لولد عمره عشر سنين.
ʿam badawwer ʿala hadiyye la-walad ʿomro ʿasher snīn.
I'm looking for a gift for a ten-year-old boy. (explaining the shopping goal)
فرجيني هاد اللي عالرف لو سمحت.
farzhīne hād ille ʿar-raff law samaḥt.
Show me this one on the shelf, please. (direct but softened request)
فرجيني is “show me,” with the recipient ـني attached. Once the object is established, Lebanese can also resume it with ياها/ياه: فرجيني ياها “show it to me.” That construction keeps the thing and the recipient distinct.
Size, fit, and trying something
قياس “size” combines naturally with أكبر and أصغر. A request with فيني + bare imperfect asks permission or practical possibility; do not keep the habitual b- on the following verb.
عندكن قياس أكبر من هاد؟
ʿindkon ʾiyēs akbar min hād?
Do you have a size bigger than this? (neutral shop question)
فيني جرب هالقميص بغرفة القياس؟
fīne zharrib hal-ʾamīṣ b-ghorfet el-ʾiyēs?
Can I try this shirt in the fitting room? (polite-service request)
جربتها، بس ضيقة شوي من عند الكتاف.
zharrabta, bass ḍayyiʾa shwayy min ʿind el-ktēf.
I tried it on, but it's a little tight around the shoulders. (feminine item resumed by -ha)
The perfect جربتها reports the completed trial. The adjective ضيقة agrees with the feminine item understood from context. English it has no gender; Lebanese forces the speaker to keep track of the noun.
Asking and answering the price
For a visible item, bare قديش؟ is enough. Add حقّ + noun when the referent is not obvious. Use بقديش when asking the price at which something was or could be sold. The قديش question system also covers quantities, degree, and duration.
قديش حق هاي الشنطة بعد التنزيل؟
ʾaddēsh ḥaʾʾ hāy esh-shanṭa baʿd et-tanzīl?
How much is this bag after the discount? (price question)
حقها خمسة وأربعين دولار، والسعر شامل الضريبة.
ḥaʾʾa khamse w-arbaʿīn dōlār, wis-siʿer shēmel eḍ-ḍarībe.
It costs forty-five dollars, and the price includes tax. (shopkeeper's answer)
بقديش بتتركلي ياه إذا أخدت كمان واحد؟
b-ʾaddēsh btitrokle yē iza akhadet kamēn wāḥad?
How much can you let me have it for if I take another one too? (negotiation where bargaining is appropriate)
The last question is a social move, not merely arithmetic. It offers a reason for a concession. In a fixed-price setting, ask neutrally about an advertised discount instead: في تنزيل عليه؟ “Is it discounted?”
Bargain, accept, or leave without conflict
A useful negotiation does not require accusing the seller of overcharging. State the constraint, connect the concession to quantity, or ask whether there is room in the price.
إذا أخدت اتنين، بتعمللي سعر أحسن؟
iza akhadet tnēn, btiʿmille siʿer aḥsan?
If I take two, can you give me a better price? (context-sensitive bargaining)
هيدا آخر سعر، ما بقدر نزل أكتر.
hayda ākher siʿer, ma baʾdar nazzel aktar.
This is the final price; I can't lower it any further. (common Lebanese هيدا in a seller's reply)
خلص، باخدها. فيني إدفع بالبطاقة؟
khalaṣ, bākhoda. fīne idfaʿ bil-biṭāʾa?
All right, I'll take it. Can I pay by card? (accepting and moving to payment)
شكرا، بدي فكر شوي وبرجع إذا قررت.
shokran, badde fakker shwayy w-barzhaʿ iza ʾarrart.
Thanks, I want to think a bit, and I'll come back if I decide. (polite exit without buying)
The last line does not promise a return. It closes the exchange without turning nonpurchase into a confrontation.
Substitution frame: one pattern, many purchases
Use في عندكن + item + بـ + property؟:
في عندكن هالموديل بالأسود؟
fī ʿindkon hal-mōdēl bil-aswad?
Do you have this model in black?
في عندكن هاي الكنزة بقياس أصغر؟
fī ʿindkon hāy el-kinze b-ʾiyēs aṣghar?
Do you have this sweater in a smaller size?
في عندكن نفس الكاسة بحجم أكبر؟
fī ʿindkon nafs el-kēse b-ḥazhem akbar?
Do you have the same glass in a larger size?
The attached بـ introduces the relevant variant: color, size, or format. Do not translate English in black / in a smaller size by choosing a preposition afresh each time.
Dialogue 1: trying on a jacket
مرحبا، فيني شوف هاي الجاكيت لو سمحت؟
marḥaba, fīne shūf hāy el-zhākēt law samaḥt?
Customer: Hello, can I see this jacket, please?
أكيد، تفضل. وإذا بدك تجربها غرفة القياس هونيك.
akīd, tfaddal. w-iza baddak tzharrba ghorfet el-ʾiyēs hōnīk.
Employee: Of course, go ahead. If you want to try it on, the fitting room is over there.
منيحة، بس عندكن هيدي بقياس أكبر؟
mnīḥa, bass ʿindkon hayde b-ʾiyēs akbar?
Customer: It's nice, but do you have this one in a larger size? (common Lebanese هيدي, kept coherent within the turn)
بفتشلك عالمستودع وبرجع بخبرك.
bfattishlak ʿal-mostawdaʿ w-barzhaʿ bkhabbirak.
Employee: I'll check the stockroom for you and come back to let you know.
Dialogue 2: quantity-based negotiation
قديش حق هالعلبة إذا أخدت تلاتة؟
ʾaddēsh ḥaʾʾ hal-ʿilbe iza akhadet tlēte?
Customer: How much is this box if I take three?
الوحدة بسبعة، والتلاتة بعشرين.
el-waḥde b-sabʿa, wit-tlēte b-ʿishrīn.
Seller: One is seven, and three are twenty.
تمام، خبيلي ياهن تا كمل شوف باقي الأغراض.
tamēm, khabbīle yēhon ta kammel shūf bāʾe l-aghraḍ.
Customer: Great, put them aside for me while I finish looking at the other things.
Variation and register
- هاد / هاي are the course's active beginner forms (informal, urban Lebanese baseline).
- هيدا / هيدي are extremely common Lebanese alternatives (regional: Lebanon). Learn to recognize them and keep one demonstrative series coherent within a short exchange.
- هادا / هاد / هاي occur in differing local systems across Syria, Palestine, and Jordan (regional). They are not evidence that one blended “Levantine” demonstrative paradigm exists.
- كم السعر؟ is understandable (formal or MSA-leaning), but everyday Beirut price questions favor قديش؟ or قديش حقّه؟.
Common Mistakes
❌ بتعمل عندكن هالقميص بالأسود؟
Incorrect English do-support calque—availability uses في عندكن or عندكن, not عمل.
✅ في عندكن هالقميص بالأسود أو بالكحلي؟
fī ʿindkon hal-ʾamīṣ bil-aswad aw bil-kaḥle?
Do you have this shirt in black or navy?
❌ فيني بجربها؟
Incorrect—فيني selects a bare imperfect, without habitual b-.
✅ فيني جربها قبل ما قرر؟
fīne zharrba ʾabel ma ʾarrer?
Can I try it before I decide?
❌ قديش حقه هاي الشنطة؟
Incorrect agreement—the feminine item هاي الشنطة is resumed with حقها, not حقه.
✅ قديش حقها هاي الشنطة الصغيرة؟
ʾaddēsh ḥaʾʾa hāy esh-shanṭa ṣ-ṣghīre?
How much is this small bag?
❌ بدي أعمل تجربة الجاكيت.
Unnatural light-verb calque for trying on clothing—use جرب with the item as its object.
✅ بدي جرب الجاكيت وبعدين بقرر.
badde zharrib el-zhākēt w-baʿdēn bʾarrer.
I want to try the jacket on, and then I'll decide.
❌ قديش هيدا؟ هاي غالية كتير.
Incoherent learner blend inside one reference chain—choose one demonstrative system for the same item.
✅ قديش هاي؟ مبينة غالية شوي.
ʾaddēsh hāy? mbayyne ghālye shwayy.
How much is this one? It looks a little expensive. (course baseline)
Key Takeaways
Build a shopping exchange as a sequence: availability, inspection, price, decision, closing. Use في عندكن...؟, فيني + bare imperfect, قديش حقّ...؟, and gender-appropriate object suffixes. Negotiate by asking about quantity or available flexibility only where the setting licenses it, and use a polite exit when you decide not to buy. Keep Beirut هاد/هاي or common Lebanese هيدا/هيدي coherent rather than constructing an invented pan-Levantine mix.
Now practice Arabic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- قدّيش: How Much and How ManyA1 — Use Lebanese قديش for prices, quantities, counts, degrees, and duration, with the word order and noun patterns each meaning favors.
- Prices, Lebanese Currency, and Large SumsA2 — Read prices in Lebanese lira and US dollars, build currency phrases correctly, and negotiate exact or approximate amounts.
- Making Requests from Direct to MitigatedA2 — Choose Lebanese imperatives, فيك, ممكن, willingness clauses, reasons, and appreciation according to entitlement, effort, and relationship.
- Direct-Object Suffixes on VerbsB1 — Attach Beirut direct-object pronouns to perfect and imperfect verbs, including weak, geminate, and vowel-final hosts and topical doubling.
- Translating English Prepositions Word for WordA2 — Repair English preposition calques by learning Lebanese lexical frames, complement shapes, time chunks, and intact wh-prepositional phrases.