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Catching a price said at speed, and knowing when bargaining is expected.
Shopping in Hindi is mostly a numbers problem. Prices are said in full and fast: दो सौ पचास is 250. Listen for सौ as the pivot — everything before it multiplies, everything after adds. Practise catching prices before you practise saying them, because you will be on the receiving end far more often.
The phrases are few. यह कितने का है (how much is this), यह बहुत महँगा है (that is very expensive), थोड़ा कम कीजिए (make it a bit less), and ठीक है (fine, agreed) to close.
Where bargaining is expected: street markets, tourist stalls, autos without meters, most things without a printed price. Where it is not: shops with price tags, restaurants, anything marked MRP — the Maximum Retail Price printed on packaged goods in India, which is a legal ceiling rather than a suggestion. Asking a shopkeeper to discount an MRP item is not offensive, but it marks you as unfamiliar.
Above a thousand, Indian numbering groups in lakhs and crores: 1,00,000 and 1,00,00,000. You will meet these in rent, salaries and property long before you meet them in a market.
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