In our daily life, we always do our own activities such as working, studying, playing, and also shopping. we often go shopping to a shop/store, supermarket, or traditional market. If you want to buying something, you surely check the pricetag below the product, right? then, how if you go for shopping in traditional market and there is no pricetag? Yup, you should ask for the price to the seller like “how much is it?“. In Bahasa Indonesia, we usually say “Berapa harganya?“.
You will often say it because there are so many traditional market. At least there are two or three traditional markets in every region / district and Indonesian people like to buy something there because of the price and they can bargain it. Besides “Berapa harganya?“, there are some sentences have a similar meaning with it in half informal ways because when Indonesian people do a transaction in traditional market, they commonly use half informal sentences.
So, there are another expression to ask “How Much” in informal ways like “berapaan bu/pak?”, “harganya berapa?”, “ini berapa bu/pak?“, “satunya berapa bu/pak?“.
But, before we pay for something, commonly Indonesian people bargain for something they want to buy. Bargain in Indonesia means “Tawar”. So, if we want to bargain something, we say “bisa ditawar ga?” for getting the lower price. Sometimes, we do a simple chitchat before bargaining for making a good conversation with the seller then we can get the best price. Now, let’s learn about how to ask how much in Indonesian.
There are some expression that used for bargaining something in Bahasa Indonesia :
- Boleh ditawar ga pak/bu? (May I bargain it?)
- Mahal Banget, saya tawar deh (It’s too expensive. How if I bargain for it?)
or you can directly say the price that you want. for example, you are going to buy shoes, but the price is Rp 200.000 (Dua ratus ribu rupiah), higher than your budget, Rp 150.000 (Seratus lima puluh ribu rupiah). Then, you can say the price directly to the seller like : “Seratus lima puluh ribu aja ya pak/bu, saya ambil nih” in English, that means “Can I bargain it to One hundred fifty rupiah? then, I will buy it“.
Thus, let’s learn more about Indonesian Simple Phrases to Learn
There is an example of conversation about it:
Seller : selamat pagi, mau cari apa? (Good Morning, what are you looking for?)
John : Pagi bu, saya sedang mencari kemeja, ada?
(Morning ma’am, I’m looking for a shirt, is there any here?)
Seller : ada, ini dia. (sure, here it is)
John : Berapa harganya? (how much is it?)
Seller : Harganya Rp 100.000 (seratus ribu rupiah). (It is Rp. 100.000)
John : ooh… itu terlalu mahal. boleh ditawar ga? (ooh… it is too expensive. May I bargain it?)
Seller : boleh. mau tawar berapa? (sure. How much do you want to bargain?)
John : saya tawar Rp. 80.000 (delapan puluh ribu rupiah), gimana? (I bargain for 80.000, how is it?)
Seller : oke, boleh (ok, you may)
John : saya mau ambil yg ini ya (I want to take this one)
seller : ini dia. terimakasih sudah membeli di toko kami (Here it is. Thank you for buying in our store)
John : sama sama. (you are welcome)
Besides asking for the price, “How much” is also used to asking for the amount of something. In English, we can use how much (for uncountable noun) and how many (for countable noun). but in Bahasa Indonesia, both words have same meaning, “Ada berapa”. Uncountable noun and Countable noun are also same.
Thus, let’s learn more about Indonesian Shopping Phrases
If you want to know amount of somethings like bag, chair, sugar, bottle, vegetables, etc, just say “Ada berapa?” while pointing the object. But, if the object can’t you see, you can mention that you mean. For example :
- “Ada berapa bukunya?” – asking for amount of book
How much is the book? - “Ada berapa sepatunya?” – asking for amount of shoes
How much is the shoes? - “Ada berapa uangnya?” – asking for amount of money
How much is the money?
Thus, let’s learn more about Indonesian Phrases for Ordering Food
so, if you want to ask amount of something, just say “Ada berapa …….?” followed by the object that want to know. If you want to know amount of your partner’s things, you should put “mu” behind of the subjects. For example :
- “Ada berapa bukumu?” – asking for amount of your book
- “Ada berapa sepatumu?” -asking for amount of your shoes
- “Ada berapa uangmu?” -asking for amount of your money
Thus, let’s learn more about Indonesian Bargaining Words for Travelers Shopping Guide.
There are some words that usually used for asking amount.
1. School tools : Pensil (pencil), Pulpen (Pen), Tas (Bag), Penghapus (Eraser), serutan (Sharpener)
2. House tools : Meja (table), Kursi (Chair), Kipas angin (Fan), Lampu (Lamp), Cermin (Mirror), Lemari (Cupboard)
3. Vehicle : Mobil (car), Motor (motorcycle), Sepeda (bicycle).
That’s it how to ask how much in Indonesian. I hope it can improve your bahasa Indonesia.