I’ve learned some colloquial Hindi for going shopping. As usual, it’s different from the Hindi straight out of a text book.
To Ask How Much Something Costs
Many people who are starting to learn Hindi just say “kitna?” (how much?) when they want to know the price of something. However, it’s possible to be a bit more specific than this.
- Yeh kitne ka hai? (how much is this?)
- Yeh kitne ka diya? (how much will you give this for?)
This second one is particularly confusing for me! Its literal translation is “this of how much gave”. You’d expect it to have a past tense meaning. In Hindi, not so.
To Ask for the Total
- Kitna hua? (how much happened?).
The Seller May Say
- Kitna chahiye? (How much is needed?)
- Kaun sa wallah? (Which one?)
- Aur kuch? (And more? — Do you want anything else?)
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- Dreaming in Hindi
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- Understanding Hinglish Written in Hindi (Devanagari) Script
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Hi Sharell, my standard question to a vegetable and fruit vendor is “kya bhav?” meaning ‘what is the price?’