LESSON NOTES

Survival Phrases #18

Lower the Price Please

CONTENTS
2
2
2
2
3

Arabic
English
Vocabulary
Grammar
Cultural Insight

18

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ARABIC
.1
.2

ENGLISH
1.

Lower the price please.

2.

Too expensive.

VOCABULARY
A r abic

R omanization

English

C lass

Ghali bzzaf.

Too expensive.

sentence

Nqes taman afak.

Lower the price

please.

sentence

GRAMMAR
Souks and markets are major features of Moroccan life, and they are among the countrys
greatest attractions. An undeniable part of your shopping experience will be to haggle at the
souk! So when you're at the market and talking prices, the phrase Lower the price please
will come in very handy! In the last lesson, we introduced How much is this? (bshhal hada?)
and "How much is that? (bshhal hadak?). Once the price is mentioned, say Lower the price
please, which is Nqes taman afak () . The first word nqes means lower. This
is followed by taman which is price. Make sure you stress on the t when you pronounce it.
The last word afak is please. Altogether, nqes taman afak literally means lower the price
please. Another phrase that can be used in combination with this is Too expensive. This is:
Ghali bzzaf

ARABI CPOD101.COM

S URVI VAL PHRAS ES #18 - LOWER T HE PRI CE PLEAS E

.means a lot or much ( )means expensive and bzzaf ( )Ghali .()

CULTURAL INSIGHT
Bargaining is entirely natural in Morocco. Never pay attention to initial prices. The opening
price is simply used to test the limits of a particular deal or situation. The best thing to do is to
visit a fixed price store to determine the real prices of item. Set your mind on how much you
are willing to pay and then go back to the shop to negotiate the prices of the articles. Places
where it's acceptable to bargain are: department stores, marketplaces, grocery stores, car
rentals, apartment rental, guides. Places with fixed prices are: movie theatres, train and bus
stations, supermarkets, eateries, museums, hotels, and food stores. All of these places should
have a set price displayed where everyone can see it. Souks are to be found everywhere;
each town has its own special souks. Large cities like Fez and Marrakesh have labyrinths of
individual souks (each filling a street or square and devoted to one particular craft), and in the
countryside there are hundreds of weekly souks.

ARABI CPOD101.COM

S URVI VAL PHRAS ES #18 - LOWER T HE PRI CE PLEAS E