Le marché de Dakar
The Dakar Market
A girl helps her aunt sell fabric at the Dakar market and learns to negotiate politely with customers.
- family trade
- culture
- numbers
Tap an underlined word to see its meaning.
What you'll encounter
- Grammar
- present tense
- il faut + infinitive
- Vocabulary
- market and trade vocabulary
- numbers
- Skills
- reading a simple negotiation dialogue
- recognizing numbers in context
Le samedi, Fatou aide sa tante Khady au marché. Elle a onze ans et habite à Dakar, au Sénégal, avec sa famille.
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On Saturdays, Fatou helps her aunt Khady at the market. She is eleven years old and lives in Dakar, Senegal, with her family.
Le marché est plein de couleurs et de bruit. On entend les vendeurs qui appellent les clients, et on sent l’odeur des épices et du poisson frais. Il y a des fruits, des légumes, et beaucoup de colorés. La tante de Fatou vend des tissus depuis vingt ans.
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The market is full of color and noise. You can hear the sellers calling out to customers, and you can smell spices and fresh fish. There are fruits, vegetables, and lots of colorful fabrics. Fatou's aunt has been selling fabric for twenty years.
Fatou est un peu nerveuse, mais aussi très excitée. C’est la première fois qu’elle aide vraiment sa tante, et pas seulement pour ranger les tissus.
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Fatou is a little nervous, but also very excited. It's the first time she's really helping her aunt, not just tidying up the fabrics.
Avant l’arrivée des premiers clients, Fatou aide sa tante à les tissus par couleur, du jaune au bleu. « Un bel étal attire les clients », explique Khady.
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Before the first customers arrive, Fatou helps her aunt arrange the fabrics by color, from yellow to blue. "A beautiful stall attracts customers," explains Khady.
« Aujourd’hui, tu m’aides à vendre », dit Khady à Fatou. « Il faut être polie avec les clients, même quand on discute le prix. » Fatou écoute attentivement.
Show English
"Today, you're helping me sell," Khady tells Fatou. "You have to be polite with customers, even when discussing the price." Fatou listens closely.
Une femme s’approche de l’ et regarde un beau tissu bleu et jaune. « Combien coûte ce tissu ? » demande-t-elle. « Dix mille francs », répond Fatou, un peu nerveuse.
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A woman approaches the stall and looks at a beautiful blue and yellow fabric. "How much does this fabric cost?" she asks. "Ten thousand francs," answers Fatou, a little nervous.
« C’est un peu cher pour moi », dit la femme en souriant. « Est-ce que c’est possible à huit mille ? » Fatou ne sait pas quoi dire et regarde sa tante.
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"That's a bit expensive for me," says the woman, smiling. "Would eight thousand be possible?" Fatou doesn't know what to say and looks at her aunt.
Khady sourit à Fatou. « Tu peux proposer neuf mille. C’est juste pour toi et pour elle. » Fatou répète la phrase à la cliente, calmement : « Neuf mille francs, pour vous. »
Show English
Khady smiles at Fatou. "You can offer nine thousand. That's fair for both of you." Fatou repeats the line to the customer, calmly: "Nine thousand francs, for you."
La femme réfléchit un moment, puis . « D’accord, neuf mille francs. Merci ! » Elle paie et prend son tissu avec un grand sourire.
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The woman thinks for a moment, then nods. "All right, nine thousand francs. Thank you!" She pays and takes her fabric with a big smile.
Vers midi, l’oncle de Fatou passe dire bonjour. « Tu vends déjà comme une professionnelle ! » dit-il en riant. Fatou de fierté.
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Around noon, Fatou's uncle stops by to say hello. "You're already selling like a professional!" he says, laughing. Fatou blushes with pride.
Une touriste s’arrête devant l’étal et regarde les des tissus avec admiration. « Ils sont magnifiques, ces dessins ! » dit-elle. « Ma tante les choisit elle-même », répond Fatou fièrement.
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A tourist stops in front of the stall and looks at the fabric patterns admiringly. "These designs are beautiful!" she says. "My aunt chooses them herself," answers Fatou proudly.
Un peu plus tard, un jeune garçon achète un petit morceau de tissu pour sa mère. « Ça coûte deux mille francs », dit Fatou avec assurance, sans hésiter cette fois.
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A little later, a young boy buys a small piece of fabric for his mother. "That costs two thousand francs," says Fatou confidently, without hesitating this time.
À la fin de la journée, Fatou et Khady comptent l’argent ensemble sous la tente. Mille, deux mille, trois mille… Fatou aime compter en français et en .
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At the end of the day, Fatou and Khady count the money together under the tent. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand... Fatou likes counting in French and in Wolof.
Khady félicite Fatou. « Tu négocies bien, et tu restes polie. C’est exactement ça, le secret. » Fatou est très fière. Elle apprend quelque chose de nouveau aujourd’hui.
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Khady congratulates Fatou. "You negotiate well, and you stay polite. That's exactly the secret." Fatou is very proud. She's learning something new today.
Avec une petite partie de l’argent gagné, Khady achète un jus de fruit frais pour Fatou. « Tu l’as bien mérité », dit-elle en souriant.
Show English
With a small part of the money earned, Khady buys a fresh fruit juice for Fatou. "You earned it," she says, smiling.
Le soir, à la maison, Fatou raconte sa journée à toute la famille, devant un bon repas. « Je vends des tissus comme une vraie marchande ! » dit-elle, un grand sourire aux lèvres.
Show English
That evening, at home, Fatou tells her whole family about her day, over a good meal. "I sell fabric like a real merchant!" she says, a big smile on her face.
Show full English translation
On Saturdays, Fatou helps her aunt Khady at the market. She is eleven years old and lives in Dakar, Senegal, with her family.
The market is full of color and noise. You can hear the sellers calling out to customers, and you can smell spices and fresh fish. There are fruits, vegetables, and lots of colorful fabrics. Fatou's aunt has been selling fabric for twenty years.
Fatou is a little nervous, but also very excited. It's the first time she's really helping her aunt, not just tidying up the fabrics.
Before the first customers arrive, Fatou helps her aunt arrange the fabrics by color, from yellow to blue. "A beautiful stall attracts customers," explains Khady.
"Today, you're helping me sell," Khady tells Fatou. "You have to be polite with customers, even when discussing the price." Fatou listens closely.
A woman approaches the stall and looks at a beautiful blue and yellow fabric. "How much does this fabric cost?" she asks. "Ten thousand francs," answers Fatou, a little nervous.
"That's a bit expensive for me," says the woman, smiling. "Would eight thousand be possible?" Fatou doesn't know what to say and looks at her aunt.
Khady smiles at Fatou. "You can offer nine thousand. That's fair for both of you." Fatou repeats the line to the customer, calmly: "Nine thousand francs, for you."
The woman thinks for a moment, then nods. "All right, nine thousand francs. Thank you!" She pays and takes her fabric with a big smile.
Around noon, Fatou's uncle stops by to say hello. "You're already selling like a professional!" he says, laughing. Fatou blushes with pride.
A tourist stops in front of the stall and looks at the fabric patterns admiringly. "These designs are beautiful!" she says. "My aunt chooses them herself," answers Fatou proudly.
A little later, a young boy buys a small piece of fabric for his mother. "That costs two thousand francs," says Fatou confidently, without hesitating this time.
At the end of the day, Fatou and Khady count the money together under the tent. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand... Fatou likes counting in French and in Wolof.
Khady congratulates Fatou. "You negotiate well, and you stay polite. That's exactly the secret." Fatou is very proud. She's learning something new today.
With a small part of the money earned, Khady buys a fresh fruit juice for Fatou. "You earned it," she says, smiling.
That evening, at home, Fatou tells her whole family about her day, over a good meal. "I sell fabric like a real merchant!" she says, a big smile on her face.
Words to know
- tissus
- — fabrics
- arranger
- — arrange
- étal
- — stall
- hoche la tête
- — nods
- rougit
- — blushes
- motifs
- — patterns
- wolof
- — Wolof, a language spoken in Senegal