Shopping in Spanish: Vocab for a successful shopping experience

Shopping is one of the few activities that everyone does at some point. When we visit a new place for the first time, we always want to check out the local shops and go shopping to get everything we need on our trip, or maybe to bring a souvenir home. This is especially true if we are visiting a foreign country, so it’s important you know how to go shopping in Spanish.

When you visit the shops and make your purchases, you can do it with confidence, just as a local would. However, to achieve a successful shopping day, we need to master the necessary phrases and vocabulary to blend in with the locals.

This post will teach you all the necessary Spanish shopping vocabulary, from finding the right shops and items, to bargaining and paying for them.

So are you ready to go shopping in Spanish? Let’s get started!

Finding the Right Shop

When visiting Spanish-speaking countries, you may need to find some essential supplies, a couple of souvenirs, or even some new clothes.

So what types of stores are you looking for? Depending on whether you’re in a city or in the countryside, you’ll find a massive selection of stores to choose between. Some of them even seem to sell everything all in one spot, from groceries to household equipment, while others are more specialized.

We’ll start off our post by helping you to find what kinds of stores you’re looking for, and where they’re located.

Types of stores

Tipos de tiendas

When looking for a store you already have in mind, you can always look for the signs on the street, or even inside a mall. You can also ask a local using some of the Spanish store vocab we present here.

• Excuse me, do you know where I can find a …? – Disculpe, ¿sabe dónde puedo encontrar …?

Boutique	Un boutique
Mall	Un centro comercial
Market	Un mercado
Supermarket	Un supermercado
Grocery store	Una tienda de comestibles
Fruit and vegetable market	Una frutería, Una verdulería
Butcher’s shop, Butcher market	Una carnicería, Un mercado de carnes
Fish stand	Una pescadería
Bakery	Una panadería
Cake shop, Pastry shop	Una repostería
Café	Una cafetería
Liquor store	Una licorería
Pharmacy	Una farmacia
Hair salon	Una peluquería
Jewelry store	Una joyería
Clothing store	Una tienda de ropa
Shoe store	Una zapatería
Flower shop	Una florería
Toy store	Una juguetería
Book store	Una librería
Sports store	Una tienda de deportes
Music store	Una tienda de música
Hardware store	Una ferretería
Travel agency	Una agencia de viajes
Gas station	Una gasolinera

We’ve gone through a lot of the most common types of stores here. Some good news is that in Latin America, gasolineras don’t only sell gas, but are also good places to go for bathrooms, cash machines, and more. Also, keep in mind that una librería in Spanish is a bookstore, not to be confused with una biblioteca, which is a library in Spanish.

If you’re looking to go a bit farther in a city, we recommend our detailed post on how to ask directions in Spanish.

Signs and locations

Letreros y ubicaciónes

Now that you’ve found the store you were looking for, you’ll need to navigate its different sections. In this list we cover all the vocab you need for getting around a shop in Spanish!

Push	Empuje
Pull	Hale
Entrance	La entrada
Exit	La salida
Aisles	Los pasillos
Stand	El puesto
Basement	La planta sótano
Ground floor	La planta baja
First floor	La primera planta
Second floor	La segunda planta
Third floor	La tercera planta
Fitting Room	El probador
Manager	El / La gerente
Business hours	El horario de atención
Open	Abierto
Closed	Cerrado

Where to buy

Dónde comprar

If you know what you’re looking for but don’t know where to find it, you’ll want to ask someone for information. The following questions will surely help you find what you need!

Remember that it’s polite to use the usted form of you in Spanish when approaching a stranger, so all of these phrases use this third-person singular conjugation.

• Where can I buy a …? – ¿Dónde puedo comprar un/una …?

• Do you know a place where they do …? – ¿Conoce un lugar donde realizan …?

• Do you know where they sell …? – ¿Conoce un lugar donde venden …?

• Do you know of a … around here? – ¿Conoce algún … por aquí cerca?

• Where is the closest / cheapest / coolest clothing store? – ¿Dónde queda la tienda de ropa más cercana / económica / chévere?

• Which one do you recommend to me? – ¿Cuál me recomienda?

Asking about products in Spanish

Once you’ve found your store, you’re ready to start shopping in Spanish. In the following sections we’ll introduce the vocab to help you find the items you’re looking for, along with some details on their quality so you can choose the right one!

Items

Los artículos

Let’s start broad, getting you to the right section of a big mall or store for whatever you’re looking to buy.

Clothing and shoes	Ropa y zapatos
Lingerie, Underwear	Lencería, Ropa interior
Jewelry	Joyería, Joyas
Babies	Bebés
Personal hygiene products	Productos de higiene personal
Cosmetics	Cosméticos
Pet items	Artículos para mascotas
Toys	Juguetes
Kitchenware	Artículos de cocina
China and glassware	Porcelana y cristalería
Groceries	Comestibles
Vegetables	Vegetales, Verduras
Fruits	Frutas
Dairy products	Productos lácteos
Gardening items	Artículos para jardinería
Office supplies	Artículos de oficina
Electronics	Artículos electrónicos
Appliances	Electrodomésticos
Furniture	Muebles
Tools	Herramientas

Quality

La calidad

Now we can start talking about what we’re looking for in a certain product, or what we think of what we find. Here we present the standard Spanish adjectives for describing a product, from cheap to elegant.

Remember that the adjectives need to match the gender and number of whatever they’re describing, so change the final -o to -a if the item is feminine. For a full grammar explanation, see our post on using Spanish adjectives.

Of course there are plenty of other words to describe things, so we’ll send you to our bigger posts on Spanish adjectives and colors in Spanish to get those details. The words we focus on here pertain to our Three Bs mantra for shopping in Spanish: Las tres B son Bueno, Bonito y Barato, meaning good, nice, and cheap!

Cheap	Barato
Affordable	Económico
Expensive	Caro
Pretty	Bonito
Elegant	Elegante
Ugly	Feo
Good	Bueno
Luxury	Lujoso

Material

El material

In addition to the quality, many items can have different origins. Let’s see some of the Spanish words for materials and origins so you can narrow down your selection. Again, remember to modify the adjectives so they match the gender and number of whatever they’re describing!

• What material is it made of? – ¿De qué material es?

• What type of fabric is this? – ¿Qué tipo de tela es?

• I think we should buy it. – Creo que deberíamos comprarla.

Organic	Orgánico
Handmade	Hecho a mano
Homemade	Casero
Carved	Tallado
Fitted	Ajustable
Sewn	Cosido
Knitted	Tejido
Ceramic	Cerámico
Porcelain	Porcelana
Fiber	Fibra
Cotton	Algodón
Leather	Cuero
Flannel	Franela
Wool	Lana
Lycra	Licra
Velvet	Terciopelo
Made in …	Hecho en …

Specialized Spanish shopping vocabulary

So far we’ve kept our post pretty general, so you can apply most of the vocab in a wide assortment of shops. If you want to get into specific detail though, you might be interested in more vocab for a given interest. Here we list some of our dedicated posts that introduce all the vocab you might need when you’re shopping for these activities!

Clothes in Spanish

Makeup in Spanish

Hobbies in Spanish

Spanish music vocab

Spanish hiking vocab

Spanish fitness vocab

Ordering coffee in Spanish

Ordering food at a restaurant in Spanish

Spanish table etiquette

Foods in Spanish

Kitchen supplies in Spanish

School supplies in Spanish

Furniture in Spanish

Spanish for banking

Spanish for car repairs

Clothes shopping in Spanish

A lot of the words we’ve seen so far can be applied to all sorts of items, whereas for clothing we need some additional vocabulary. Let’s start with a Spanish sizing chart, and then get into some questions you can ask once you’re ready to try on an item of clothing.

Size

La talla

Many clothing tags will be familiar to you, but in case they’re only in Spanish, here’s the sizing information you’re likely to find.

Small size (S)	Talla pequeña (P)
Medium size (M)	Talla mediana (M)
Large size (L)	Talla grande (G)
Extra large size (XL)	Talla extra grande (XG)
One size fits all	Talla única

A helpful tip when shopping in Spanish is to know your sizes ahead of time. It’s especially useful to know the length of your feet in centimeters, since this is how shoes are sized in many Spanish-speaking countries!

All right! Now let’s head to the fitting rooms.

Try it on!

¡Pruébatelo!

Sizing can be tricky when we are trying new brands, so grab your items and try them on in the probadores, or fitting rooms! Here we present a selection of useful phrases that you can use to interact with the sales staff and find the perfect clothes! Of course, some simple Spanish greetings can also come in handy.

• Please, can you help me? – Por favor, ¿me puede ayudar?

• Welcome! May I help you? – ¡Bienvenido/a! ¿Puedo ayudarle?

• Are you looking for anything in particular? – ¿Busca algo en especial?

• Where are the fitting rooms? – ¿Dónde están los probadores?

• Can I try this on? – ¿Puedo probarme esto?

• Do you have this in … size? – ¿Tiene este en talla … ?

• It fits me well. – Me queda bien.

• It doesn’t fit me. – No me queda.

• It’s too big on me. – Me queda muy grande.

• It’s too tight here. – Me queda ajustado aquí.

• My shoe size is … – Mi talla de zapatos es …

• Do you have this one in another color? – ¿Tiene este en otro color?

• It’s sold out. – Está agotado/a.

• Are you going to take it? – ¿Se lo lleva?

• No, thank you. – No, gracias.

• I’ll think about it. – Lo voy a pensar.

• I’m not sure. – No estoy seguro/a.

• I’m going to keep looking. – Voy a seguir buscando.

• I’m just looking, thanks. – Solo estoy mirando, gracias.

• I would like one of those, please. – Quisiera uno de esos, por favor.

• Thank you very much, sir / ma’am. – Muchas gracias, señor/a.

• I want this one / that one. – Quiero este / ese.

• I don’t like this one so much. – Este/a no me gusta tanto.

• I really like this one! – ¡Me encanta este/a!

• Where can I find …? – ¿Dónde puedo encontrar …?

• In aisle number … – En el pasillo …

• I’ll take it! – ¡Me lo llevo!

Paying for your purchases

Once you’ve found the items you want to buy, it’s time to pay for them. In the next sections we’ll cover the most important interactions you’ll have at the checkout counter, we’ll cover essential money vocab, and we’ll even provide some pointers for bargaining in Spanish.

Checkout phrases

Frases útiles de pago

Here we present some of the most common phrases you’ll need when it’s time to pay for your items. When you’re talking about prices, be sure to know your numbers in Spanish!

• How much does it cost? – ¿Cuánto cuesta?

• How much is this one? – ¿Cuánto cuesta este?

• How much in dollars? How much in pesos? How much in euros? – ¿Cuántos dólares? ¿Cuántos pesos? ¿Cuántos euros?

• Does it have a discount? – ¿Tiene descuento?

• On sale. – En oferta.

• Where is the cash register? – ¿Dónde está la caja registradora?

• Do you take credit cards? – ¿Acepta tarjeta?

• Cash only. – Sólo efectivo.

• I don’t have change. – No tengo cambio.

• Don’t you have a smaller bill? – ¿No tiene un billete más pequeño?

• Don’t you have change for …? – ¿No tiene cambio para …?

• Can you give me change for a $… bill? – ¿Me puede cambiar un billete de $…?

• What is the exchange rate? – ¿Cuál es la tasa de cambio?

• Would you like a bag? – ¿Desea una bolsa? – ¿Quiere una bolsa?

• No bag, please. – Sin bolsa, por favor.

• Yes, I need a bag, please. – Sí, necesito una bolsa, por favor.

Money

El dinero

Here we present the basic vocab you’ll need when you go to pay for your items. For an even broader introduction to this topic, check out our post on money in Spanish slang.

Money	El dinero
Cash	El efectivo
Bills	Los billetes
Coins	Las monedas
Currency	La moneda
Exchange rate	La tasa de cambio
Change	El cambio
Credit card	Una tarjeta de crédito
Debit card	Una tarjeta de débito
Wire transfer	Una transferencia bancaria
Point of sale	El punto de venta
Dollars	Los dólares
Euros	Los euros
Pesos	Los pesos

Bargaining in Spanish

Negociando en español

A lot of shops in Latin America have fixed prices, but sometimes there’s room for negotiation. This is especially the case in touristy areas, or in markets.

With this in mind, let’s wrap up our post on shopping with some useful phrases for bargaining in Spanish. Just remember that this is a back-and-forth process, and neither the buyer nor the seller is obligated to change their offer. Keep it polite, and be ready to walk away if you’re not happy or if the bargaining isn’t going as you’d hoped.

But as long as you’re able to do some of the bargaining in Spanish, you should also be ready to get a better deal on whatever you’re shopping for!

You can start your approach with the salesperson with this question:

• How much are you asking for …? – ¿Cuánto pide por …?

The straight answer from the salesperson would be along the lines of:

• Give me $…  – Deme $…

Now it’s your turn! Choose between these phrases to convey your mood on the proposed price, or to make a counteroffer:

• It’s too expensive! – ¡Es demasiado caro!

• I’ll give you $… – Le doy $…

• I have $… – Tengo $…

• I don’t have more money. – No tengo más dinero.

• It’s all I have. – Es lo único que tengo.

Sometimes you can try for a better price if you buy more than one item. Here are some phrases in case you want to try this approach:

• And what if I take …? – ¿Y si me llevo …?

• What price would you give me for them? – ¿En cuánto me los deja?

Once you and the salesperson make your offers and counteroffers, it’s time to make a decision. Do you buy the items at that price, or do you walk away? Hopefully you’re both happy with the final price, and you can conclude the sale!

Conclusion: Shopping in Spanish

Well this has been a fun Spanish shopping excursion!

Today’s post covered all the different steps you’ll need for a successful shopping mission in a Spanish-speaking country, from finding a shop to locating the right items, to trying them on and paying. We also provided plenty of links to our other lessons in case you want specialized vocab for specific activities.

Overall, we thank you for shopping for us, and we look forward to seeing you back for more next time!