Shopping Hindi links a product, its price, and the transaction through several compact constructions: यह कितने का है?, मुझे यह दिखाइए, कुछ कम कीजिए, पाँच सौ में दे दीजिए, and ये जूते दो हज़ार के पड़े. These are not interchangeable translations of English cost, buy, and sell. Each construction chooses its own argument marking and agreement.
Unless marked otherwise, the phrases here are neutral and respectful enough for an unfamiliar shopkeeper. Bargaining is ordinary in many markets and with some independent vendors, but inappropriate where prices are explicitly fixed—supermarkets, pharmacies, ticket counters, and many branded stores. Grammar does not override the social setting. For numeral forms and Indian currency notation, see money, prices, weights, and measures.
Asking a price: कितने का, कितने की, कितने के
The most characteristic frame is item + कितने का/की/के + होना. The agreeing genitive form matches the item: masculine singular कितने का, feminine singular कितने की, and plural कितने के/की according to gender.
यह सूती कुर्ता कितने का है?
yah sūtī kurtā kitne kā hai?
How much is this cotton kurta?
ये नीली चूड़ियाँ कितने की हैं?
ye nīlī cūṛiyā̃ kitne kī haiṃ?
How much are these blue bangles?
Short यह कितने का है? remains natural when both speakers can see the item. इसकी कीमत क्या है? is neutral to somewhat formal and suits written inquiries; इसका मूल्य क्या है? is more formal/administrative. Everyday shop talk normally prefers कितने का/की है.
अगर एक किलो लूँ, तो कितने का पड़ेगा?
agar ek kilo lū̃, to kitne kā paṛegā?
If I take a kilo, how much will it come to?
Here पड़ना presents the price as the cost incurred by the buyer. It does not literally mean that anything falls. The idiomatic meaning is conventional, while the future पड़ेगा still agrees with the understood masculine amount or purchase.
Requesting an item
Use मुझे + item + चाहिए to say what you want or need. चाहिए is invariant here; it does not become feminine or plural. In a shop, respectful imperatives such as दिखाइए, दीजिए, निकालिए make requests without overexplaining the buyer's desire.
मुझे इसी डिज़ाइन में एक छोटा साइज़ चाहिए।
mujhe isī ḍizāin meṃ ek choṭā sāiz cāhie.
I need a smaller size in this same design.
ज़रा दूसरा रंग भी दिखाइए।
zarā dūsarā raṅg bhī dikhāie.
Please show me another color too. (respectful)
ज़रा softens the request; it need not mean that the action is physically small. In many shops यह वाला/वाली/वाले efficiently selects a visible option, with वाला agreeing with the understood item.
लाल वाला पैक कर दीजिए; काला वाला थोड़ा महँगा है।
lāl vālā paik kar dījie; kālā vālā thoṛā mahaṅgā hai.
Please pack the red one; the black one is a little expensive.
The vector देना in पैक कर दीजिए presents the service as completed for the customer. It is not a literal request to “give the act of packing.”
Prices with में and के हिसाब से
Once a total has been proposed, amount + में + देना/मिलना means “give/sell” or “be available for that amount.” में frames the amount as the terms within which the deal is completed.
अगर दोनों लूँ, तो बारह सौ में दे दीजिए।
agar donoṃ lū̃, to bārah sau meṃ de dījie.
If I take both, let me have them for twelve hundred. (respectful bargaining)
इतनी अच्छी जैकेट इस दाम में कहीं नहीं मिलेगी।
itnī acchī jaikeṭ is dām meṃ kahīṃ nahīṃ milegī.
You won't find such a good jacket anywhere at this price. (typical sales claim)
Goods sold by weight or another unit commonly take के हिसाब से “according to/by the rate of.” A shorter unit price can use किलो directly in market speech.
ये आम किलो के हिसाब से मिलेंगे या पेटी के हिसाब से?
ye ām kilo ke hisāb se mileṅge yā peṭī ke hisāb se?
Are these mangoes sold by the kilo or by the crate?
प्रति किलो is concise and common on signs or in formal pricing (written/formal); किलो के हिसाब से is natural in conversation.
Bargaining without sounding hostile
The core polite request is कुछ कम कीजिए “reduce it a little.” दाम कम कीजिए names the price explicitly, and आख़िरी दाम बताइए asks for the seller's final quote. मोलभाव करना describes bargaining as an activity; it is not normally inserted into the request itself.
दाम थोड़ा ज़्यादा है; कुछ कम कीजिए।
dām thoṛā zyādā hai; kuch kam kījie.
The price is a little high; please lower it a bit. (respectful bargaining)
आप अपना आख़िरी दाम बता दीजिए, फिर मैं तय करूँगी।
āp apnā āxirī dām batā dījie, phir maĩ tay karū̃gī.
Tell me your final price, then I'll decide. (female speaker, respectful)
सस्ता and महँगा describe the item relative to a norm; दाम कम/ज़्यादा describes the price. सस्ता कर दीजिए is widely used conversationally, but literally it asks the seller to make the item cheaper. दाम कम कर दीजिए is structurally more explicit.
पास वाली दुकान में यही बैग थोड़ा सस्ता था।
pās vālī dukān meṃ yahī baig thoṛā sastā thā.
This same bag was a little cheaper at the shop next door.
Avoid bargaining in a fixed-price context. क्या इस पर कोई छूट है? is a neutral inquiry that works even in many formal retail settings; demanding दाम कम करो does not.
क्या इस पर कोई छूट है, या कीमत तय है?
kyā is par koī chūṭ hai, yā kīmat tay hai?
Is there any discount on this, or is the price fixed?
Reporting what something cost
Hindi often uses buyer को + item + amount के/की + पड़ना. The item controls agreement, while the buyer is marked by को. This frame looks back at the cost actually incurred, not merely the marked price.
ये जूते मुझे छूट के बाद तीन हज़ार के पड़े।
ye jūte mujhe chūṭ ke bād tīn hazār ke paṛe.
These shoes cost me three thousand after the discount.
For a running bill, shopkeepers and customers also use कुल कितने हुए? and कुल आठ सौ पचास हुए. The understood rupee total is treated as a plural amount.
दो किलो सेब और एक किलो संतरे—कुल कितने हुए?
do kilo seb aur ek kilo santare—kul kitne hue?
Two kilos of apples and one kilo of oranges—how much is it altogether?
Payment questions use ordinary predicates: नक़द देना, कार्ड से भुगतान करना, or conversational कार्ड/यूपीआई चलना “be accepted/work here.”
क्या यहाँ कार्ड चलेगा, या नक़द देना होगा?
kyā yahā̃ kārḍ calegā, yā naqad denā hogā?
Will a card work here, or will I have to pay cash?
A short market dialogue
भैया, ये टमाटर कितने के हैं?
bhaiyā, ye ṭamāṭar kitne ke haiṃ?
Excuse me, how much are these tomatoes? (ordinary North Indian market address)
साठ रुपये किलो हैं; कितने दूँ?
sāṭh rupaye kilo haiṃ; kitne dū̃?
They're sixty rupees a kilo; how much should I give you?
दो किलो दे दीजिए, लेकिन अच्छे वाले चुनिएगा।
do kilo de dījie, lekin acche vāle cuniegā.
Give me two kilos, but please choose the good ones. (respectful)
भैया is common as a friendly male form of address in much of North India (regional: North India), but it is not universal or required. सुनिए or no address term is safer across settings. Respectful future-like चुनिएगा makes the request gently deferential.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating कितना as invariable
❌ यह साड़ी कितने का है?
Incorrect—feminine साड़ी requires कितने की and है.
✅ यह साड़ी कितने की है?
yah sāṛī kitne kī hai?
How much is this sari?
2. Making चाहिए agree with the requested item
❌ मुझे दो बोतलें चाहिएँ।
Nonstandard in this need construction—चाहिए is normally invariant.
✅ मुझे पानी की दो बोतलें चाहिए।
mujhe pānī kī do botaleṃ cāhie.
I need two bottles of water.
3. Translating English “cost” as खर्च करना
❌ ये जूते तीन हज़ार खर्च करते हैं।
Incorrect—खर्च करना means to spend; an item's incurred cost is expressed with पड़ना.
✅ ये जूते मुझे तीन हज़ार के पड़े।
ye jūte mujhe tīn hazār ke paṛe.
These shoes cost me three thousand.
4. Using a blunt familiar command with a shopkeeper
❌ दाम कम कर।
Grammatical only with intimate तू and usually rude to an unfamiliar seller.
✅ दाम थोड़ा कम कर दीजिए।
dām thoṛā kam kar dījie.
Please lower the price a little. (respectful)
5. Bargaining where the price is fixed
❌ टिकट काउंटर पर: आधे दाम में दे दीजिए।
Socially unsuitable—public ticket prices are fixed, so bargaining language is inappropriate.
✅ क्या छात्र टिकट पर कोई छूट है?
kyā chātr ṭikaṭ par koī chūṭ hai?
Is there any discount on a student ticket? (appropriate formal inquiry)
Key Takeaways
- Ask कितने का/की/के है?, agreeing का/की/के with the item.
- Use invariant चाहिए for what you need and respectful दिखाइए/दीजिए for shop requests.
- राशि में देना negotiates a total, while buyer को item राशि के पड़ना reports the incurred cost.
- Bargaining phrases are socially licensed by the type of market; at fixed-price counters, ask about छूट instead.
Related Topics
- Money prices weights and measuresB2 — Build natural Hindi quantity phrases for rupees, prices, weight, length, volume, and practical transactions.
- कितना कौन-सा and कैसा agreementB1 — Choose and inflect कितना, कौन-सा, and कैसा to ask about quantity, selection, and quality across gender, number, and case.
- आप imperative -iyeB1 — Form respectful singular and plural Hindi commands in -इए while handling vowel stems, polite requests, negation, and compound predicates.
- से as comparison standardA2 — Use से to set the standard in unequal comparisons, from ordinary adjective contrasts to pronouns, quantities, and सबसे superlatives.
- Noun plus करना predicatesB2 — Build Hindi conjunct predicates in which a noun supplies the event and करना carries tense, aspect, agreement, and agentive structure.
- Hospitality food and imperative etiquetteB2 — Navigate Hindi food offers, refusals, dietary needs, and host–guest talk through pronoun choice, imperative level, agreement, and variable social convention.