Lesson 93 · C1
Your best price
Ibn Battuta tells of trade in the Land of Darkness without ever seeing your partner: you left your goods, came back next day and found furs beside them. If they weren't enough you left them, and the other side added more. Haggling without words. In a souk you need the words, and here they all are.
- Haggle: offers and counter-offers.
- Set conditions: if I take two…
- Close a deal and leave a deposit.
- Read the account of the silent trade.
Twenty-four words
Haggling formulas, closing the deal, trade, and the vocabulary of Ibn Battuta's account.
Haggling
- أَخِيرْ ثَمَنْ akher taman best price; final price
- زِيدْ شْوِيَّة zid shwiyya go up a bit
- نْقَّصْ شْوِيَّة nqqes shwiyya come down a bit
-
غَالِي عْلِيَّا
ghali 3liyya
that's too much for me
Softer than “it's expensive”.
- أَخِيرْ كْلَامْ akher klam my final word
- وْ صَافِي u safi and that's it
Closing the deal
- تّْفَاقْنَا ttfaqna we have a deal
- تْصَافَاتْ tsafat deal done
- الْعَرْبُونْ l-3arbun deposit
- الْعَقْدْ l-3aqd contract
- الشَّرْطْ sh-shart condition
Trade
- التَّاجْرْ t-tajer merchant
- السّْلْعَة s-sel3a goods
- الرّْبَحْ r-rbe7 profit
- الْخْسَارَة l-khsara loss
- بْالْجُّمْلَة b j-jumla wholesale
- بْالتّْقْسِيطْ b t-tqsit in instalments
The account
-
الْمَتَاعْ
l-mata3
wares; load
The text's word.
- الْفَرْوَة l-ferwa fur; pelt
- الْمُقَايَضَة l-muqayada barter
- رْضَى بْ rda b to be satisfied with
Worth more than the price
- الثِّيقَة t-tiqa trust
- الْكْلْمَة l-kelma one's word
- النِّيَّة n-niyya good faith
Taking turns to offer
The silent trade, retold in Darija. Find the ila conditions and what happens if one side isn't happy.
- التّْجَّارْ كَيْخْلِّيوْ السّْلْعَة وْ كَيْمْشِيوْt-tujjar kaykhelliw s-sel3a u kaymshiw
- إِلَا رْضَاوْ بْدَاكْشِّي اللِّي لْقَاوْ، كَيْدِّيوْهْila rdaw b dakshi lli lqaw, kayddiwh
- إِلَا مَا رْضَاوْشْ، كَيْخْلِّيوْهْ، وْ الْآخُرِينْ كَيْزِيدُوila ma-rdawsh, kaykhelliwh, u l-akhurin kayzidu
- بَايْعِينْ وْ شَارْيِينْ بْلَا كْلَامْbay3in u sharyin bla klam
What does the other side do if the merchant isn't satisfied? How would you say that out loud in a souk?
The rule
Haggling is turn-taking. Never take the first figure.
Soft refusal + offer: ghali 3liyya, n3tik…
Ask to move: zid shwiyya, nqqes shwiyya.
Conditional offer: ila khditi juj, nnqqes lik.
Ceiling: akher taman?, akher klam.
Common ground: la tkhesrni la nkhesrek, “you don't lose, I don't lose”.
Close: tsafat, ttfaqna; ha l-3arbun, “here's the deposit”.
A negotiation
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| بْشْحَالْ؟ — مِيتِينْ دِرْهَمْ | b sh7al? — mitin derhem | how much? — two hundred dirhams |
| غَالِي عْلِيَّا. نْعْطِيكْ مِيَّة وْ خَمْسِينْ | ghali 3liyya. n3tik miyya u khemsin | that's too much for me; I'll give you a hundred and fifty |
| زِيدْ شْوِيَّة، مِيَّة وْ تْمَانِينْ | zid shwiyya, miyya u tmanin | go up a bit: a hundred and eighty |
| إِلَا خْدِيتِي جُوجْ، نْنْقَّصْ لِيكْ | ila khditi juj, nnqqes lik | if you take two, I'll bring it down |
| أَخِيرْ ثَمَنْ؟ — مِيَّة وْ سْتِّينْ، أَخِيرْ كْلَامْ | akher taman? — miyya u sttin, akher klam | best price? — a hundred and sixty, final word |
| لَا تْخْسْرْنِي لَا نْخْسْرْكْ | la tkhesrni la nkhesrek | you don't lose, I don't lose |
| وَاخَّا، تْصَافَاتْ | wakha, tsafat | OK, deal |
| هَا الْعَرْبُونْ، وْ الْبَاقِي غْدَّا | ha l-3arbun, u l-baqi ghedda | here's the deposit, the rest tomorrow |
Order matters: soft no, offer, condition, ceiling, close.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “best price?”, “if I take two”, “meet me halfway”, “deposit”: the market phrases carry over.
Costly: the habit of paying the sticker price. In a souk, accepting the first figure is unusual; haggling is part of the conversation.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Out of politeness or haste, you pay the first price. The seller won't be offended, but you've paid the tourist rate.
×— مِيتِينْ. — وَاخَّا، هَاهُومَاAccepting the first figure.
✓— مِيتِينْ. — غَالِي عْلِيَّا، نْعْطِيكْ مِيَّة وْ خَمْسِينْ“That's too much for me; I'll give you a hundred and fifty”.
Fixed prices (supermarket, pharmacy): no haggling.
The Land of Darkness
A real passage from the Rihla. Ibn Battuta never went: he gave up because of the cost. He reports what he was told about trade with the peoples of the far north, reached by dog sled. Notice fa yazidunahu, “and they raise the offer”.
وَكُنْتُ أَرَدْتُ الدُّخُولَ إِلَى أَرْضِ الظُّلْمَةِ […]، ثُمَّ أَضْرَبْتُ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ لِعِظَمِ الْمَؤُونَةِ فِيهِ وَقِلَّةِ الْجَدْوَى.
[…] وَلَا يَدْخُلُهَا إِلَّا الْأَقْوِيَاءُ مِنَ التُّجَّارِ، الَّذِينَ يَكُونُ لِأَحَدِهِمْ مِائَةُ عَجَلَةٍ أَوْ نَحْوُهَا، مُوقَرَةٌ بِطَعَامِهِ وَشَرَابِهِ وَحَطَبِهِ.
[…] فَإِذَا كَمُلَتْ لِلْمُسَافِرِينَ بِهٰذِهِ الْفَلَاةِ أَرْبَعُونَ مَرْحَلَةً، نَزَلُوا عِنْدَ الظُّلْمَةِ، وَتَرَكَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا جَاءَ بِهِ مِنَ الْمَتَاعِ هُنَالِكَ، وَعَادُوا إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِمُ الْمُعْتَادِ.
فَإِذَا كَانَ مِنَ الْغَدِ عَادُوا لِتَفَقُّدِ مَتَاعِهِمْ، فَيَجِدُونَ بِإِزَائِهِ مِنَ السَّمُّورِ وَالسِّنْجَابِ وَالْقَاقُمِ.
فَإِنْ أَرْضَى صَاحِبَ الْمَتَاعِ مَا وَجَدَهُ إِزَاءَ مَتَاعِهِ أَخَذَهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُرْضِهِ تَرَكَهُ، فَيَزِيدُونَهُ، وَرُبَّمَا رَفَعُوا مَتَاعَهُمْ، أَعْنِي أَهْلَ الظُّلْمَةِ، وَتَرَكُوا مَتَاعَ التُّجَّارِ. وَهٰكَذَا بَيْعُهُمْ وَشِرَاؤُهُمْ.
وَلَا يَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ يَتَوَجَّهُونَ إِلَى هُنَالِكَ مَنْ يُبَايِعُهُمْ وَيُشَارِيهِمْ، أَمِنَ الْجِنِّ هُوَ أَمِ الْإِنْسِ، وَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَحَدًا.
Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, Tuḥfat an-nuẓẓār fī gharāʾib al-amṣār (s. XIV), «Relato de la Tierra de la Oscuridad». Texto de ar.wikisource.org con cortes marcados […]; vocalización de Learning Darija · dominio público
Did you follow?
Why didn't Ibn Battuta go?
Show answers
The great cost and little profit.
Who could go in?
Show answers
Only rich merchants, with around a hundred loaded carts.
How did the trade work?
Show answers
They left their goods, came back the next day and found furs beside them.
What if they weren't satisfied?
Show answers
They left the furs, and the others added more.
Check
Two here, three more in the C1 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the C1 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Put in order
Three haggling sentences.
نعطيكغاليميةعليا
ننقصجوجإلاليكخديتي
غداالعربونوهاالباقي
2Fill the gap
With the haggling phrase.
غاليزيدأخيرتصافات
- ميتين؟ ___ عليا بزاف
- مية قليل، ___ شوية
- شحال ___ ثمن؟
- واخا، ___. ها الفلوس
3True or false?
According to the account.
- The journey was made in carts pulled by dogs.
4Negotiate
Following the clue in brackets.
- مِيتِينْ؟ (رْفْضْ + عَرْضْ مِيَّة وْ خَمْسِينْ)
5In the souk
Write a ten-line haggle over a carpet, with a conditional offer and a close.
بْشْحَالْغَالِي عْلِيَّازِيدْإِلَاأَخِيرْ كْلَامْتْصَافَاتْ
The rest is in the C1 book
The C1 bookShow answers
| 1. Put in order | غالي عليا نعطيك مية · إلا خديتي جوج ننقص ليك · ها العربون و الباقي غدا |
|---|---|
| 2. Fill the gap | غالي · زيد · أخير · تصافات |
The C1 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Haggle with ghali 3liyya, zid, nqqes.
- Make a conditional offer.
- Close with tsafat and leave a deposit.
- Read the account of the silent trade.