Go Shopping in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to go shopping in Spanish! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• buy things in a store

• ask for a specific size or color

• ask how much something costs

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Shopping Nouns

Spanish	English
la camisa	shirt
el/la cliente	customer
el color	color
la compra	buy or purchase
el pantalón	pants
el peso	peso
la talla	size
el vendedor	salesperson
el vestido	dress

examples
Hay un cliente. There is a customer.
¿Dónde está el vendedor? Where is the salesperson?
Quiero una camisa. I want a shirt.
Necesito un vestido. I need a dress.

Adjectives

Spanish	English
gris	gray
marrón	brown
mediano	medium
morado	purple
naranja	orange

For example:

examples
Quiero la camisa gris. I want the gray shirt.
Quiero el vestido naranja. I want the orange dress.
¿Tiene una talla mediana? Do you have a medium?
Quiero el vestido morado. I want the purple dress.

Gender Tip

In Spanish, adjectives must agree with the noun (or pronoun) they describe in gender and number. If the noun an adjective describes is feminine, the adjective must be feminine. If that same noun is also plural, the adjective will be feminine and plural.

However, some adjectives do not change according to the gender of the noun they describe. For example, the colors marrón, gris, and naranja do not change depending on the nouns they modify.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

examples
Quiero la camisa gris. I want the gray shirt.
Quiere el pantalón gris. She wants the gray pants.

Numbers

Spanish	English
sesenta	sixty
setenta	seventy

examples
La camisa cuesta sesenta pesos. The shirt costs sixty pesos.
El pantalón cuesta setenta pesos. The pants cost seventy pesos.

Direct Object Pronouns

Number	Masculine	Feminine
singular	lo	la
plural	los	las

For example:

examples
Lo quiero. I want it.
Las quiero. I want them.

Direct Object Pronouns: Gender and Number

A direct object pronoun (un pronombre de objeto directo) replaces a direct object.

Remember: A direct object is a noun that directly receives the action of a verb in a sentence.

Let's take a look at some examples:

examples
Quiero la camisa. I want the shirt.
La quiero. I want it.
Quiero el vestido morado y el vestido gris. I want the purple dress and the gray dress.
Los quiero. I want them.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Costar

Costar(to cost) is a stem-changing verb. That means that its "stem," co, changes to cue in all forms except for the vos, nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros/vosotras forms.

Note that it’s very uncommon to use this verb except in the third person singular and plural.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	cuesto	I cost
tú	cuestas	you cost	informal singular you
vos	costás	you cost	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	cuesta	he, she costs
usted	cuesta	you cost	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	costamos	we cost
vosotros, vosotras	costáis	you cost	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	cuestan	they cost
ustedes	cuestan	you cost	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

For example:

examples
Cuesta diez pesos. It costs ten pesos.

Probarse

Probarse(to try on) is both a reflexive verb and a stem-changing verb that means to try on.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me pruebo	I try on
tú	te pruebas	you try on	informal singular you
vos	te probás	you try on	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se prueba	he, she tries on
usted	se prueba	you try on	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos probamos	we try on
vosotros, vosotras	os probáis	you try on	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se prueban	they try on
ustedes	se prueban	you try on	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

For example:

examples
¿Te pruebas la camisa? Will you try on the shirt?

In sentences such as me lo pruebo, you have two pronouns in one sentence: a reflexive pronoun (me) and the pronoun referring to the object you’re trying on (lo). The reflexive pronoun will always go before the indirect or direct object pronoun.

For example:

examples
¿Me puedo probar la camisa morada? Can I try on the purple shirt?
¿Me la puedo probar? Can I try it on?
Me llevo las camisas. I’ll take the shirts.
Me las llevo. I’ll take them.

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
¿Cuánto cuesta?	How much does it cost?
¿Dónde está el vendedor?	Where is the salesperson?
Me lo llevo.	I’ll take it.
¿Me lo puedo probar?	Can I try it on?
¿Qué color quiere?	What color do you want?
¿Qué talla necesita?	What size do you need?

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Mauricio:

¡Hola! ¿Dónde está el vendedor? Necesito una camisa.

Hello! Where’s the salesperson? I need a shirt.

Raquel:

Soy la vendedora. ¿Qué color quiere?

I’m the salesperson. What color do you want?

Mauricio:

Quiero una camisa negra.

I want a black shirt.

Raquel:

¿Qué talla necesita?

What size do you need?

Mauricio:

¿Tiene una talla mediana?

Do you have a medium?

Raquel:

Sí. Tengo una camisa negra, talla mediana. ¿Se prueba la camisa?

Yes. I have a black shirt, medium. Will you try on the shirt?

Mauricio:

No, gracias. Me la llevo.

No, thank you. I’ll take it.

Raquel:

¡Es una buena compra!

It’s a good buy!

Want to learn more about how to talk about shopping in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Shopping in Spanish

• Colors in Spanish

• Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish