EFE learning modules / Prices, Bargaining & Payments

Prices, Bargaining & Payments @ Discussing money and currency, negotiating prices in markets, and understanding different payment methods.

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Cost an arm and a leg

/ኮስት አን አርም አንድ ኤ ሌግ/

በጣም ውድ መሆን

To be extremely expensive.

በጣም ከፍተኛ ዋጋ ያለው ወይም ውድ የሆነ።

In Practice

"This car cost me an arm and a leg."
"Repairing the roof will cost an arm and a leg."
Fluent Tip

Used when describing something that requires a lot of money to buy.

Break the bank

/ብሬክ ዘ ባንክ/

አቅምን የሚፈታተን ወጪ

To cost more than one can afford.

ከሚችሉት አቅም በላይ ወጪ ማድረግ።

In Practice

"You can get a good phone without breaking the bank."
"I want a vacation that won't break the bank."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used in financial planning or shopping contexts.

Foot the bill

/ፉት ዘ ቢል/

ሂሳቡን መክፈል

To pay for something, especially when it is expensive.

ለአንድ ነገር በተለይም ለውድ ነገር ክፍያውን መሸፈን።

In Practice

"The company will foot the bill for the travel expenses."
"Who is going to foot the bill for the wedding?"
Fluent Tip

Used when one person or entity takes responsibility for payment.

Pick up the tab

/ፒክ አፕ ዘ ታብ/

ሂሳቡን መሸፈን

To pay the bill for a group or another person.

የሌላውን ሰው ወይም የቡድን ሂሳብ መክፈል።

In Practice

"He insisted on picking up the tab for dinner."
"The boss picked up the tab at the restaurant."
Fluent Tip

Informal context, usually regarding meals or drinks.

Highway robbery

/ሃይዌይ ሮበሪ/

የቀትር ዝርፊያ (ከፍተኛ ዋጋ)

Charging an unfairly high price for something.

ለአንድ ነገር ተገቢ ያልሆነ በጣም ከፍተኛ ዋጋ ማስከፈል።

In Practice

"Ten dollars for a bottle of water? That is highway robbery!"
"The price of tickets is pure highway robbery."
Fluent Tip

Used to express outrage at overpriced goods.

Flat broke

/ፍላት ብሮክ/

ባዶ ኪስ መሆን

Having absolutely no money at all.

ምንም ዓይነት ገንዘብ የሌለው መሆን።

In Practice

"I can't go out tonight; I'm flat broke."
"After the holidays, he was flat broke."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to describe having zero funds.

Money to burn

/መኒ ቱ በርን/

የሚተርፍ ገንዘብ ያለው

Having so much money that you can spend it on unnecessary things.

ለማያስፈልጉ ነገሮች እንኳ የሚተርፍ ብዙ ገንዘብ ያለው።

In Practice

"She just bought a third yacht; she must have money to burn."
"I don't have money to burn on luxury items."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe wealthy people who spend lavishly.

Tighten your belt

/ታይትን ዮር ቤልት/

ቁጠባ ማድረግ

To spend less money than usual because you have less.

ገንዘብ ስለጠፋ ወይም ለማስቀመጥ ሲባል ወጪን መቀነስ።

In Practice

"We need to tighten our belts until I find a new job."
"The economy is bad, so everyone is tightening their belts."
Fluent Tip

Used when discussing financial hardship or budgeting.

For a song

/ፎር ኤ ሶንግ/

በርካሽ ዋጋ

Bought or sold at a very low price.

በጣም በትንሽ ወይም በረካሽ ዋጋ መግዛት ወይም መሸጥ።

In Practice

"I bought this antique desk for a song at the auction."
"He managed to buy the house for a song."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone gets a great deal.

Rolling in it

/ሮሊንግ ኢን ኢት/

በገንዘብ መዋኘት

To be extremely wealthy.

በጣም ሀብታም መሆን።

In Practice

"His uncle is rolling in it because of the real estate boom."
"They are rolling in it since they won the lottery."
Fluent Tip

Informal description of someone's extreme wealth.

Pay through the nose

/ፔይ ስሩ ዘ ኖዝ/

ከልክ በላይ መክፈል

To pay much more than something is worth.

ለአንድ ነገር ከሚገባው በላይ በጣም ብዙ ዋጋ መክፈል።

In Practice

"We had to pay through the nose to get the car fixed."
"If you want a room now, you'll pay through the nose."
Fluent Tip

Usually implies a sense of being forced to pay a high price.

Squirrel away

/ስኩዊርል አዌይ/

ገንዘብ መደበቅ / ማከማቸት

To save or hide money for future use.

ለወደፊት ጥቅም እንዲሆን ገንዘብን ቆጥቦ ማስቀመጥ።

In Practice

"She has been squirreling away money for years."
"He squirreled away some cash for emergencies."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to talk about saving bit by bit.