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Buying Vegetables and Spices

Rahul visits the local vegetable vendor and spice shop near his home to buy fresh produce for the week, bargaining a little on the price.

Rahul, Vendor

Key words and phrases

vegetable vendora person who sells fresh vegetables, often at a small stall or cartHe buys his greens from the same vegetable vendor every week.
fresh producevegetables and fruits that are recently harvested and not staleHe always checks for fresh produce before buying.
bargainto negotiate a lower price with a sellerShe likes to bargain a little before paying.
weighing scalean instrument used to measure the weight of items being soldThe vendor placed the tomatoes on the weighing scale.
per kilothe price charged for one kilogram of an itemOnions were selling at forty rupees per kilo.
seasonal vegetablea vegetable that grows and is available during a particular time of yearSpinach is a common seasonal vegetable in winter.
spice shopa shop that sells whole and ground spicesHe picked up cumin and turmeric from the spice shop.
whole spicesspices sold in their natural, unground formWhole spices stay fresh longer than ground ones.
ground spicesspices that have been crushed into a powderHe asked the shopkeeper to grind the spices fresh.
quality checkexamining an item to make sure it's good before buyingShe did a quick quality check on the tomatoes.
wholesale pricea lower price offered when buying in large quantitiesHe got a wholesale price for buying two kilos at once.
retail pricethe regular price charged for a small quantityThe retail price was higher than the wholesale rate.
carry baga bag used to carry purchased items homeHe forgot to bring his own carry bag.
loose itemsgoods sold by weight rather than in a packetHe prefers buying spices as loose items.
haggleto argue back and forth over the price of somethingHe didn't want to haggle too much over a few rupees.
final pricethe agreed amount after any bargaining is doneThey settled on a final price of sixty rupees.
leafy greensvegetables with edible green leaves, like spinach or fenugreekShe bought a bunch of leafy greens for the salad.
staleno longer freshHe rejected the stale-looking coriander.
roadside stalla small, informal shop set up along a streetHe gets his vegetables from a roadside stall.
changethe money returned after paying more than the exact costThe vendor gave him his change quickly.

Useful sentences

Dialogue

RahulGood morning! Do you have any fresh produce today?

VendorYes, these tomatoes and leafy greens just came in.

RahulGreat. How much for a kilo of tomatoes?

VendorThirty rupees per kilo, very fresh today.

RahulCan you make it twenty-five since I'll take two kilos?

VendorAlright, for two kilos I can give you a wholesale price of twenty-seven.

RahulDeal. I also need some whole spices — cumin and coriander seeds.

VendorSure, would you like them ground fresh or whole?

RahulWhole is fine, they'll stay fresh longer at home.

VendorGood choice. That will be sixty rupees in total.

Common mistakes

Quick quiz

1. What does "bargain" mean?

2. What is a "seasonal vegetable"?

3. What are "whole spices"?

4. What is a "wholesale price"?

5. What does "stale" mean?

6. What are "loose items"?

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