EFE learning modules / Shopping In-store & Online

Shopping In-store & Online

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Shop around

/ሻፕ አራውንድ/

ዋጋ ማወዳደር

To compare prices and quality in different shops before buying.

ከመግዛታችን በፊት በተለያዩ ሱቆች ውስጥ የዋጋ እና የጥራት ሁኔታዎችን ማወዳደር።

In Practice

"You should shop around before buying that laptop."
"I spent all day shopping around for a new car."
Fluent Tip

Used when advising someone to find the best deal.

Cost an arm and a leg

/ኮስት አን አርም ኤንድ ኤ ሌግ/

በጣም ውድ

To be extremely expensive.

በጣም ውድ የሆነ ነገር።

In Practice

"This designer bag cost an arm and a leg."
"The repairs on the house cost an arm and a leg."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to describe high costs.

Fit like a glove

/ፊት ላይክ ኤ ግላቭ/

ልክ ልክ መሆን

To fit perfectly.

ለአንድ ሰው ልክ የሆነ ወይም በትክክል የሚገጥም።

In Practice

"I tried on the dress and it fits like a glove."
"These shoes fit like a glove."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used for clothing and footwear.

Shop till you drop

/ሻፕ ቲል ዩ ድሮፕ/

እስኪደክም መሸመት

To go shopping for a very long time until you are exhausted.

በጣም እስኪደክም ድረስ ለረጅም ጊዜ መገብየት።

In Practice

"We went to the mall and shopped till we dropped."
"On Black Friday, people shop till they drop."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe an intense shopping session.

Window shopping

/ዊንዶው ሻፒንግ/

መስኮት ማየት

The activity of looking at goods displayed in shop windows without intending to buy anything.

ሳይገዙ በሱቅ መስታወት ውስጥ ያሉ እቃዎችን መመልከት።

In Practice

"I don't have money, let's just go window shopping."
"She enjoys window shopping on weekends."
Fluent Tip

Casual activity when one has no budget to spend.

Buy a pig in a poke

/ባይ ኤ ፒግ ኢን ኤ ፖክ/

ሳይረዱ መግዛት

To buy something without seeing it or knowing its value.

አንድን ነገር ሳያዩ ወይም ጥራቱን ሳያረጋግጡ መግዛት።

In Practice

"Buying a car online can be like buying a pig in a poke."
"Don't buy that mystery box; it's like buying a pig in a poke."
Fluent Tip

Often used for risky online purchases.

Pay through the nose

/ፔይ ስሩ ዘ ኖዝ/

ከመጠን በላይ መክፈል

To pay too much money for something.

ለአንድ ነገር ተገቢ ካልሆነ በላይ ዋጋ መክፈል።

In Practice

"We paid through the nose for those concert tickets."
"If you want it now, you'll have to pay through the nose."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone feels overcharged.

On the house

/ኦን ዘ ሃውስ/

በነፃ

Given for free by a business.

በንግድ ድርጅቱ በነፃ የሚሰጥ።

In Practice

"The manager gave us dessert on the house."
"Since the wait was long, the drinks are on the house."
Fluent Tip

Common in retail and hospitality.

Talk shop

/ቶክ ሻፕ/

ስለ ስራ ማውራት

To talk about one's work or business even when not at work.

ከስራ ሰዓት ውጭ ስለ ስራ ወይም ንግድ ማውራት።

In Practice

"Even at the party, they continued to talk shop."
"Let's enjoy dinner and not talk shop."
Fluent Tip

Used when work talk intrudes on social time.

Bargain hunter

/ባርጌን ሀንተር/

ቅናሽ ፈላጊ

Someone who looks for goods at low prices.

ርካሽ እቃዎችን የሚፈልግ ሰው።

In Practice

"My mother is a real bargain hunter."
"The sale attracted many bargain hunters."
Fluent Tip

Describes someone who loves discounts.

Buy for a song

/ባይ ፎር ኤ ሶንግ/

በጣም በርካሽ መግዛት

To buy something very cheaply.

አንድን ነገር በጣም በዝቅተኛ ዋጋ መግዛት።

In Practice

"I bought this antique table for a song."
"She got that designer dress for a song at the thrift store."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone gets an incredible deal.

Sell like hotcakes

/ሴል ላይክ ሆትኬክስ/

እንደ ቆሎ መሸጥ

To sell very quickly and in large quantities.

በጣም በፍጥነት እና በከፍተኛ መጠን መሸጥ።

In Practice

"The new iPhones are selling like hotcakes."
"The tickets for the show sold like hotcakes."
Fluent Tip

Used for popular items.