What does “regatear” mean at a Spanish-speaking market?

Regatear means “to haggle” or “bargain” over a price — essential vocabulary for any Spanish-speaking market. In this clip, a shopper haggling over mangos and avocados gets unsolicited advice from a friendly “amiga” nearby, who warns the fruit is wormy and rotten — until the twist: that helpful stranger turns out to be the rival vendor selling mangos and avocados from the stall across the way.

The verb comes from regate, a “dodge” or “feint” — the same root used in soccer for dribbling past a defender — so haggling is literally framed as a kind of verbal footwork. Expect it wherever prices aren’t fixed: open-air markets, street stalls, sometimes even taxi fares.