Shopping

1. འདི་གདོང་ལེན་ཇི་རེད།

   Di dong-len ji re?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   The most basic way to ask the price of an item. Useful at Barkhor market in Lhasa.

   Grammar Note

   "Ji" (how much/many) + copula "red." Lhasa's Barkhor market is Tibet's largest open-air bazaar, selling thangkas, statues, and decorative items.

2. གོང་ཞོག་རོགས།

   Gong-zhok rok

   Please lower the price / Give me a discount

   Usage

   Used when bargaining. Price negotiation is common in Tibetan markets.

   Grammar Note

   "Zhok" is an imperative verb. Bargaining (gong-shol) is part of market culture in Tibet; negotiations often start around half the initial asking price.

3. དེ་གཞན་ཅིག་གནང་རོགས།

   De zhen chig nang-rok

   Please show me a different one

   Usage

   When you want to see a different item.

   Grammar Note

   "Zhen chig" means "another one." Tibetan numbers often follow the noun. "Nang" (honorific of "to give") is used in request contexts.

4. འདི་ངོ་མ་ཡིན་ནམ།

   Di ngo-ma yin-nam?

   Is this genuine / authentic?

   Usage

   Confirming the authenticity of religious crafts or antiques.

   Grammar Note

   Quality varies greatly in Tibetan crafts, thangkas, and statues. Checking authenticity with "ngo-ma" is important. Antique export may be regulated.

5. ཐང་ཀ་གཅིག་ཉོ་འདོད་ཡོད།

   Thang-ka chig nyo-dö yö

   I would like to buy one thangka

   Usage

   Buying a thangka, the traditional Tibetan Buddhist scroll painting.

   Grammar Note

   "Dö-yö" expresses desire or intention ("want to"). Thangkas range from handpainted originals (taking months to make) to printed reproductions.

6. འདི་ཉོ་གི་ཡིན།

   Di nyo-gi yin

   I will buy this

   Usage

   Indicating you have decided to purchase an item.

   Grammar Note

   "Gi yin" expresses intentional future or volition. Tibetan future tense is formed by adding auxiliary verbs after the main verb stem.

7. མ་ཉོ་བ་ཡིན།

   Ma-nyo-wa yin

   I won't buy it / No thank you

   Usage

   Declining to purchase, including when dealing with persistent vendors.

   Grammar Note

   Negation is formed by prefixing "ma" to the verb. For a firmer refusal: "ma-nyo." For gentler refusal, say "thuk-je che" (thank you) and move on.

8. དཔར་རིས་ལེན་ཆོག་གམ།

   Par-ri len chok-gam?

   May I take a photo?

   Usage

   Asking permission to photograph items or shops. Photography is often restricted inside temples.

   Grammar Note

   "Chok-gam?" (may I? / is it okay?) is a versatile permission request. "Chok" means "permitted/okay"; replies are "chok" (yes) or "ma-chok" (no).

9. འདི་ཉིང་ཤ་ལོ་ལ་ཚད་གང་ཡིན་ནམ།

   Di nying-sha lo-la tshe gang yin-nam?

   How old is this? (e.g. antique)

   Usage

   Checking the age of an antique or vintage item.

   Grammar Note

   Tibetan uses "lo" (year) for age expressions. Export of antiques from Tibet may be legally restricted; check current regulations before purchasing.

10. འདི་ངའི་རང་ཡུལ་དུ་ཕྱིར་གཏོང་ཆོག་གམ།

    Di nge rang-yül du chir-tong chok-gam?

    Can you ship this to my home country?

    Usage

    Requesting international shipping for large crafts or purchases.

    Grammar Note

    "Chir-tong" is a compound verb meaning "to send outward." Shipping services in Tibet are limited; arranging through a reputable shop or guesthouse is safer.

11. ལེན་འཛིན་མི་དགོས།

    Len-dzin mi go

    I don't need a receipt

    Usage

    Declining when a receipt is offered at the counter

    Grammar Note

    Len-dzin means "a document for receiving money or goods". Negation puts mi- in front of the verb dgos (to need)

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