Hindi · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 8 of 12
Food and shopping
खाना और ख़रीदारीkhaanaa aur khareedaaree
Buy fruit and vegetables at an Indian market: say what you need with मुझे … चाहिए, ask prices per kilo and use plurals.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say what you need or would like with मुझे … चाहिए
- Ask the price of fruit and vegetables and say how much you want
- Make nouns plural
Listen
Kavita buys vegetables and fruit from a stall at a market in Delhi. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Vendor
आइए दीदी, क्या चाहिए?
Aaiye deedee, kyaa chaahiye?
Come, didi, what would you like?
Kavita
भैया, टमाटर कैसे दिए?
Bhaiyaa, tamaatar kaise diye?
Bhaiya, how much are the tomatoes?
Vendor
चालीस रुपये किलो।
Chaalees rupaye kilo.
Forty rupees a kilo.
Kavita
मुझे एक किलो टमाटर और आधा किलो आलू चाहिए।
Mujhe ek kilo tamaatar aur aadhaa kilo aaloo chaahiye.
I'd like a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of potatoes.
Vendor
और कुछ? केले बहुत अच्छे हैं।
Aur kuchh? Kele bahut achchhe hain.
Anything else? The bananas are very good.
Kavita
अच्छा, आधा दर्जन केले भी दीजिए।
Achchhaa, aadhaa darjan kele bhee deejiye.
All right, half a dozen bananas too, please.
Vendor
हरी सब्ज़ियाँ भी चाहिए?
Haree sabziyaan bhee chaahiye?
Do you need any green vegetables too?
Kavita
नहीं, बस। कितने हुए?
Naheen, bas. Kitne huye?
No, that's all. How much is that?
Vendor
पचासी रुपये।
Pachaasee rupaye.
Eighty-five rupees.
Understand
I need, I'd like: मुझे … चाहिए
… (mujhe … chaahiye) means “I need …” or “I'd like …”. Word for word it's “to me … is needed”, so the person is (mujhe, to me) or (aapko, to you), and (chaahiye) never changes. It's the same (chaahiye) as in (kyaa chaahiye?), what would you like?
- मुझे एक किलो टमाटर चाहिए।Mujhe ek kilo tamaatar chaahiye.I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
- आपको क्या चाहिए?Aapko kyaa chaahiye?What do you need?
- मुझे चाय नहीं चाहिए।Mujhe chaay naheen chaahiye.I don't want any tea.
Plurals
Masculine nouns ending in -aa change to -e: (kelaa) → (kele). Other masculine nouns stay the same: (ek tamaatar), (do tamaatar). Feminine nouns ending in -ee change it to -iyaan: (sabzee) → (sabziyaan). Other feminine nouns add -en: (mez) → (mezen).
Adjectives in -aa agree with the plural noun too: (achchhe kele, good bananas). Feminine adjectives don't change in the plural: (haree sabziyaan, green vegetables).
| Type | One | More than one |
|---|---|---|
| masculine in -aa | (kelaa), banana | (kele) |
| other masculine | (aaloo), potato | (aaloo) |
| feminine in -ee | (sabzee), vegetable | (sabziyaan) |
| other feminine | (mez), table | (mezen) |
At the market
Vendors give prices per kilo: (chaalees rupaye kilo), forty rupees a kilo. To ask the price of fruit and vegetables, say … (… kaise diye?). Word for word it's “how did you give …?”, but everyone uses it to mean “how much are …?”. Bananas and eggs are often sold by the dozen: (ek darjan kele).
- आलू कैसे दिए?Aaloo kaise diye?How much are the potatoes?
- आधा किलो टमाटर दीजिए।Aadhaa kilo tamaatar deejiye.Half a kilo of tomatoes, please.
More in the grammar: Gender of nouns: masculine and feminine · Hindi numbers: from 0 to a million · Should and have to: चाहिए, है, पड़ना
New words
- आइएaaiyecome (in), please · The polite form of (aao). Vendors use it to invite you to their stall.
- दीदीdeedeeelder sister · feminine; a friendly way to address a woman, like (bhaiyaa) for a man
- टमाटरtamaatartomato · masculine; plural (tamaatar)
- कैसे दिए?Kaise diye?How much are they? · Used at markets for fruit and vegetables.
- किलोkilokilo · masculine
- मुझे … चाहिएmujhe … chaahiyeI need …, I'd like …
- आधाaadhaahalf · (aadhaa kilo), half a kilo
- आलूaaloopotato · masculine; plural (aaloo)
- केलाkelaabanana · masculine; plural (kele)
- अच्छाachchhaaall right, OK · You know it as “good”; on its own it also means “all right”.
- सब्ज़ीsabzeevegetable; a vegetable dish · feminine; plural (sabziyaan)
- बसbasthat's all, enough · (bas) is also the word for a bus.
- फलphalfruit · masculine; plural (phal)
- दर्जनdarjandozen · masculine
Practise
1.Match the food words.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
2.Put the words in order to say what you'd like.
Tap the words below in the right order.I'd like two kilos of potatoes.
3.What is the plural of (kelaa)?
4.What is the plural of (kursee, chair)?
5.You're at the market and want to know the price of the potatoes. What do you ask?
0 of 5 exercises done.
Say it out loud
मुझे एक किलो टमाटर चाहिए।
Mujhe ek kilo tamaatar chaahiye.
I'd like a kilo of tomatoes.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.