Shopping in Spanish

For many travelers, shopping is one of the most anticipated activities. If you're visiting a Spanish-speaking area and want to shop, whether you're buying souvenirs or groceries for the day, this list of words and phrases along with a basic knowledge of grammar and everyday vocabulary should make the task easier:

• abierto a las 10 — open at 10
• barato — cheap
• comprar — to buy
• ¿Cual es el cambio? — What is the exchange rate?
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? ¿Cuántos cuestan? — How much does it cost? How much do they cost?
• ¿Cuánto vale? ¿Cuántos valen? — How much is it worth? How much are they worth?
• ¿Cuantos dólares? ¿Cuántos pesos? ¿Cuántos euros? — How much (in dollars)? How much (in pesos)? How much (in euros)?
• ¿Dónde puedo compar ...? — Where can I buy ...?
• Son muy bonitos. Son muy bonitas. — They're very pretty. (Bonitos is used to refer to things with a masculine name, bonitas if the name is feminine.)
• la caja; el cajero, la cajera — cash register or place where payments are made; cashier
• de buena calidad — good quality
• de mala calidad — poor quality
• caro, cara — expensive
• gracias, muchas gracias, mil gracias — thank you, thank you very much
• descuenta — discount
• grande — large
• ¿Hay garantía? — Is there a guarantee?
• ¿Hay ...? — Are there ...? Do you have ...?
• ¿Hay ... en otros colores? ¿Hay ... en otras tallas? — Do you have ... in other colors? Do you have ... in other sizes?
• Mediano, mediana — medium (in size)
• No lo quiero. No los quiero. No la quiero. No las quiero. — I don't want it. (Lo and los are used to refer to things with a masculine name, la and las for things with a feminine name.)
• Quiero ..., por favor. — I want ..., please.
• Quisiera probarlo, por favor. — I would like to try it (on), please.
• Quisiera ..., por favor. — I would like ..., please.
• en oferta, en oferta especial — on sale
• Voy a pensarlo. — I'll think about it.
• pequeño, pequeña — small
• por favor — please
• rebaja — price reduction
• de rebajas — on sale, at a discount
• Sólo quería mirar. — I'm only looking.
• tarjeta de crédito; ¿Se aceptan tarjetas de crédito? — credit card; Are credit cards accepted?
• vender, vendedor — to sell, seller
• en venta, a la venta — for sale, on sale
• Vuelvo pronto. Vuelvo más tarde. — I'll come back soon. I'll come back later.

Other phrases or words can also be used to express many of the thoughts above. However, all of these phrases should be understood everywhere.