Lesson 11 · 6 min read
Spanish for Shopping and Money
Whether at a market or a shop, a handful of phrases makes buying things smooth. This lesson covers shops, money, and how to ask about prices and pay.
1. At the shop
Shop vocabulary rewards a single question: "¿Cuánto cuesta?" for one item, "¿Cuánto cuestan?" for several. Shop assistants usually open with "¿En qué puedo ayudarle?", and "sólo estoy mirando" — I'm just looking — is the polite way to decline help.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la tienda | shop / store |
| el mercado | market |
| el supermercado | supermarket |
| la caja | checkout / till |
| el precio | price |
| la talla | size (clothes) |
| la bolsa | bag |
| el descuento | discount |
2. Money and paying
Paying methods take "con" or "en": "con tarjeta" by card, "en efectivo" in cash. Prices are written with a comma for the decimal and a point for thousands, the opposite of English convention, so 1.250,50 is one thousand two hundred fifty and fifty cents.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el dinero | money |
| el efectivo | cash |
| la tarjeta | card |
| el cambio | change |
| barato | cheap |
| caro | expensive |
3. Useful phrases
Two phrases do most of the work at a till. "¿Me lo puede envolver?" asks for it to be wrapped, and "¿Tiene otra talla?" asks for a different size. If you need to think, "lo voy a pensar" ends the exchange politely without committing.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much is it? |
| ¿Cuánto es en total? | How much is it all together? |
| ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? | Can I pay by card? |
| Solo estoy mirando, gracias. | I am just looking, thanks. |
| ¿Tiene esto en otra talla? | Do you have this in another size? |
4. Markets, haggling and getting the size right
In a shop with marked prices, the price is the price. In a street market the rules loosen, though far less than travel guides suggest — a polite ¿Me hace un precio? or ¿Es lo último? is about as far as it goes, and aggressive bargaining reads as rude in most of Spain and much of Latin America. The verb you will use most is querer, softened. Quiero sounds blunt on its own; quería or me gustaría is what a native speaker reaches for. Quería dos kilos de naranjas is friendlier than quiero and costs you nothing.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quería… | I'd like… (softened) | Quería medio kilo de tomates. — I'd like half a kilo of tomatoes. |
| ¿Me hace un precio? | Can you do me a deal? | ¿Me hace un precio si llevo tres? — Can you do me a deal if I take three? |
| Es muy caro | It's very expensive | Lo siento, es muy caro para mí. — Sorry, that's very expensive for me. |
| ¿Aceptan tarjeta? | Do you take cards? | ¿Aceptan tarjeta o solo efectivo? — Do you take cards or only cash? |
| el cambio | the change | Quédese con el cambio. — Keep the change. |
Common mistakes
¿Cuánto cuesta los zapatos? → ¿Cuánto cuestan los zapatos?
The verb agrees with the item, not with you. One thing cuesta, several things cuestan.
Son 1,250.50 euros → Son 1.250,50 euros
Spanish reverses the separators: the point groups thousands and the comma marks the decimal. Misreading this can be an expensive mistake.
Pago con efectivo → Pago en efectivo
Cash takes en; cards take con. Con tarjeta, en efectivo — there is no logic to it, it just has to be learned.