What to say when you go shopping (Qué decir cuando voy de compras)

If you want to shop at any place where Spanish is spoken, is important to know what you have to say, so you can get what you asked for.

What you are about to learn is important because if you are a backpacker, it is probably that you go to local stores where clerks don´t speak English, so you have to be specific when you buy something.

Before you learn essential phrases, you have to know the most common used vocabulary when you go shopping.

Basic shopping vocabulary:

cheap – barato
customer – cliente
discount – descuento
expensive – caro
price – precio
sales – rebajas
shop – tienda
shopping bag – bolsa de la compra
shopping list – lista de la compra
special offer – oferta especial
to order – hacer un pedido
aisle – pasillo
basket – cesta
counter – mostrador
fitting room – probador
manager – gerente / encargado
shelf – estantería
shop assistant – vendedor/ dependiente
shop window – escaparate
stockroom – almacén
trolley – carrito

When you are about to pay:

cashier – cajero
cash – efectivo
change – cambio
checkout – caja
complaint – queja
credit card – tarjeta de crédito
in stock – en stock
out of stock – agotado
plastic bag / carrier bag – bolsa de plástico
purse – bolso
queue – cola
receipt – recibo
refund – reembolso

shopping cart – Carrito de compras
cash register – caja registradora
wallet – cartera

check out counter  –  Caja de pagar
to pay – Pagar
coupon – Cupón

                                                      

Now that you know vocabulary, you have to know how to use those words in phrases, for example:

Do you want to go shopping? – ¿Quieres ir de compras?
What is your favorite store? – ¿Cuál es tu tienda favorita?
What do you need to buy? – ¿Qué tienes que comprar?
Does this look good? – ¿Se ve bien esto?
Does this match? – ¿Esto combina?
How much is it? – ¿Cuánto cuesta?
Do you have these shoes in size 8? – ¿Tiene estos zapatos en talla 8?
Do you have this shirt in another color? – ¿Tiene esta camisa en otro color?
Where is the store? – ¿Dónde esta la tienda?
Where is the kids section? – ¿Dónde esta la sección de niños?
At what time do you close/open? – ¿A qué hora cierran/ abren?

This is other example:

Translation:

Dependiente: ¿Puedo ayudarle en algo?

Cliente: ¿Podría probarme esta camiseta? (va y se lo prueba). ¿Tienes una talla más grande/pequeña/ un color diferente?

Dependiente: No, lo siento. Esa es la única.

Cliente: Ok, me la voy a llevar. ¿Cuánto cuesta?

Dependiente: 17 libras

Cliente: ¿Puedo pagar mediante cheque?

Dependiente: No, tarjeta de crédito o efectivo solamente.

Cliente: Perdona, solo tengo un billete de 50 libras. No tengo cambio (monedas o billetes de menor valor)

Dependiente: Está bien. Aquí tiene su recibo. ¿Quiere una bolsa?

When you go to a mall it is common for the different sections to be divided according to the floors of the building. An example of a sign that we can see on one of these large surfaces is the following.

SÓTANO – ELECTRÓNICA Y COMIDA

PLANTA BAJA –  BELLEZA

PRIMER PISO –  ROPA DE MUJER

SEGUNDO PISO –  ROPA DE HOMBRE / DEPARTAMENTO DE NIÑOS

TERCER PISO – MUEBLES

CUARTO PISO – JUGUETES / RESTAURANTE

These are some examples of situations when you go shopping:

A: Pardon me. Could you help me?

B: Of course. How can I help you?

A: I am looking for a sweater.

B: What size do you wear?

A: Medium, I think.

B: Here. How do you like this one?

A: It's pretty. Can I try it on?

B: You can try it on in the fitting room over there.

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A: Disculpe. ¿Usted me podría ayudar?

B: por supuesto. ¿Como puedo ayudarte?

A: Estoy buscando un suéter.

B: ¿Qué talla llevas?

A: Medio, creo.

B: aquí. ¿Cómo te gusta este?

A: es bonito. ¿Puedo probármelo?

B: Puedes probarlo en el probador allí.

Here are some exercises on the subject:
And you can download it Here

Ordering food at the restaurant (Ordenar comida en el restaurante)

Hola! Today’s lesson will be about the vocabulary needed for ordering food at the restaurant in Spanish. The lesson includes a list of words and phrases for describing food at the restaurant in Spanish and asking the waiter to recommend you some. In addition, this lesson will introduce the names of some common Latin American dishes in Spanish.

Common questions and phrases at the restaurant in Spanish

When you are the restaurant, the first words you will need are Spanish greetings and farewells like “Hola” and “Mucho gusto”. There are not the only phrases you will need at the restaurant in Spanish though. We have divided them in three different sections.

Describing food in Spanish and a restaurant’s menu:

Most of the time, people use adjectives to describe food such as:

“Delicioso”, “Sabroso” (delicious or tasty).

“Feo” (not delicious in this case).

“picante” (spicy).

“Juicy” (Jugoso)

“creamy” (cremoso)

“Smelly” (aromático)

“dulce” (sweet).

 “salado” (salty).

“bitter” (amargo)

“Frozen”(congelado)

A basic sentence describing food in Spanish will also use the verbs SER and ESTAR, e.g.  “El filete está delicioso” and “La comida es sabrosa en ese lugar”.

Vocabulary over view:

“Los restaurantes” sometimes have their menu (El menú) in both English and Spanish, but it is always better to know what to order and how to order it. Here is a very simple restaurant menu in Spanish. Also, real menus will include prices (precios) and many other dishes too, as well as special offers, some nouns for the restaurant in Spanish you may need are:

“mesa” (table).

 “reservación” (book).

“comida”  (food).

 “plato principal” (main dish).

 “entrada” (appetizer).

 “postre” (dessert).

“menu” (menú)

“prices”(precios)

Common questions customers ask at the restaurant in Spanish:

As customers, we will always come up with lots of different questions to ask the waiter or any other person at the restaurant in Spanish. Listen to some of the most common questions customers ask and their possible answers:

Buenos días, una mesa para dos (personas) por favor.

Good morning, a table for two (persons) please.

Good night, can you show me the menú please?

Buenas noches me puede mostrar el menú por favor?

What do you recommend me?

Qué me recomienda?

I will ask for this dish.

Pediré este platillo

Can you bring me the bill?

Me puede traer la cuenta?

Things that the waiter will say at the restaurant in Spanish

On the other hand, the waiter (el mesero) or the waitress (la mesera) will usually welcome you with a greeting like:

“Bienvenido, pase adelante por favor” (welcome, please come in)

“Bienvenido, ¿Tiene reservación?  (good morning, do you have a reservation?

Once you are inside the restaurant, the waiter will say or ask these things:

Por favor tome asiento.

Please take a seat.

Permítame llevarlo a su mesa.

Let me walk you to your table.

Aquí tiene el menú.

Here is the menú.

¿Le gustaría ordenar?

Would you like  to order?

¿Qué le gustaría tomar?

What do you like to drink?

Le recomiendo probar el filete de cerdo a la plancha.

I recommend you to try the grilled pork steak.

¡Buen provecho!

 Enjoy!

Aquí tiene la cuenta.

Here is the bill/check.

Here are some exercises on the subject:
And you can download it Here

How to ask for directions (Cómo pedir indicaciones)

While the GPS on your phone can be a great resource, you never know when you’ll be left with no signal, or a dead battery. That’s why it’s important to know how to ask for directions in Spanish before your trip to any Spanish speaking destination.

Today you’re going to learn the most important phrases from our lesson on How to Ask for Directions in Spanish. If you haven’t already, check out our video below to hear these phrases used in real life situations.

In the video lesson we teach you four ways to ask for directions for the following situations:

• Getting Somewhere Specific
•  Finding Common Services
• Asking for Help if Lost
• Finding Transportation

These are some of the most important phrases from the video. Make sure you repeat the phrases, or write them down if that helps you memorize them.

• “Sigue derecho dos cuadras” = “Go straight ahead two blocks.”
• “Avanza tres cuadras” = “Go ahead three blocks.”
• “Subes todo derecho” In Mexico a lot of people use this phrase to say “Go straight ahead” when talking about a direction where the topography of the land is higher.
• “Bajas por ahí” = “Go down that way.”
• “Hasta donde topa” = “Until the end of the street.”
• “Gira a la izquierda/derecha” = “Turn left/right.”
• “Das vuelta a la izquierda/derecha” = “Turn left/right.”
• “En la esquina” = “On the corner.”
• “En contra esquina de…” = “Kitty-corner from…”
• “A espaldas del/de la ...” = “Behind the ...”
• “Rodea el/la …” = “Go around the ...”
• “¿Cómo llego al/ a la … ?” = “How do I get to the … ?”
• “¿Qué tan lejos queda el/la ... del/de la … ?” = “How far is the ... from the ... ?”
• “¿Hay un/una ... cerca de aquí?” = “Is there a ... around here?”
• “Creo que estoy perdido/a” = “I think I’m lost.”
• “¿Sabes si está por aquí?” = “Do you know if it’s around here?”
• “¿Pasa por aquí el camión que va a ... ?” = “Does the bus to … pass by here?”
• “¿Dónde puedo tomar un taxi?” = “Where can I take a taxi?”

Make sure you watch the video to listen to the pronunciation and learn even more useful phrases for asking for directions in Spanish.

Conversation:

Disculpe, ¿podría decirme dónde está la plaza de toros?

Excuse me, could you tell me where the bullring is?

Siga recto y tome la segunda calle a la derecha.
Carry straight on and take the second street on the right.

¿Está cerca de la catedral?
Is it near the cathedral?

No, para ir hasta allí tiene que cruzar todo el centro.
No, to get there you'll have to go right across the centre.

¿Hay algún autobús que pase por allí?
Is there a bus that goes nearby?

Sí, al doblar esta esquina tiene la parada del veintitrés, que le deja al lado.
Yes, when you turn this corner you'll see the stop for number 23, which leaves you next to it.

Roads:

La calle - street
La carretera - main road
La avenida - avenue
El callejón - alley
El callejón sin salida - dead end, cul-de-sac
La rotonda - roundabout
La esquina - corner

Places:

La plaza de toros - bullring
Las tiendas -shops
El centro comercial - shopping mall
La galería (de arte) - art gallery
El parque - park
El casco antiguo - historic centre
El mercado - market

Directions and orientation:

Seguir - to carry on
Tomar - to take
Cruzar - to cross
Girar - to turn
Caminar - to walk
Todo recto - straight on
Derecha - right
Izquierda - left
Cerca - near(by)
Lejos - far (away)
Subir - go up
Bajar - go down
Tirar para - head towards
Arriba - up(wards)
Abajo - down(wards)
Detrás de - behind
Adelante de - in front of
Enfrente de - opposite

Other things to say ...

Pasear - to walk around, stroll
Deambular - to wander aimlessly
Dar una vuelta, dar un paseo - to go for a walk/stroll
Un paseo - stroll
Correr - to run
Perdido - lost
Estamos perdidos - we are lost
Está a un paseo - it's a stroll away
Está a una buena caminata - it's quite a way
¿Voy bien por aquí para ... ? - am I going the right way for ... ?

Means of transport

A pie - on foot

En coche - by car

El autobús - bus

La moto - motorbike

El barco - boat

El avión - plane

Here are some exercises on the subject:
And you can download it Here

Greetings (Saludos)

The type of greeting that you can use in Spanish depends greatly on the formality of the situation that you find yourself in. Here are three ways to greet someone in Spanish:

Formal Greeting	Informal Greeting	Very Informal Greeting
Hola, ¿Cómo está usted?	¿Cómo te va?	¿Qué Onda?

The Importance of a Greeting:

A greeting is a basic form of courtesy in human society. It’s a simple way to show someone unfamiliar that you are friendly and/or respectful. It’s important to understand how to be able to greet someone in all types of social situations, whether they be very formal or very informal. In this article, we’ll show you different ways to greet someone in Spanish so that the next time you encounter a Spanish-speaker, you’ll be able to show off your manners.

Formal Greetings:

You can use the greetings in the following list in basically any situation. Remember that in Spanish, tú

• Vos
• Usted
• Ustedes
• Vosotros

Are all ways to say you. To make the list simpler, we’ll just show the Spanish greetings that use usted and ustedes (in the masculine form).

List of Formal Greetings:

Spanish	English
Hola	Hello
¿Cómo está? (Formal Singular)	How are you?
¿Cómo están? (Formal Plural)	How are you?
Hola, ¿Cómo está? (Formal Singular)	Hello, How are you?
Hola, ¿Cómo  están? (Formal Plural)	Hello, How are you?
Mucho Gusto	It’s nice to meet you
Buenos  Dias	Good morning
Buenas Tardes	Good afternoon
Buenas Noches	Good Evening

•Tú is used when talking to people you know, like your friends, or people the same age as you or younger.

•Usted is used when talking to someone you don’t know, someone older, or someone to whom you wish to show respect and formality.

Informal Greetings:

The greetings in this list are a little more informal. They can also be used in many social situations, from an encounter between friends to interactions with coworkers.

Spanish	English
Hola.	Hi. / Hey.
¿Cómo estás? (Informal Singular)	How’re you? / How are you doing?
¿Cómo están? (Informal Plural)	How’re you? / How are you doing?
Hola, ¿cómo estás? (Informal Singular)	Hi. How’re you?
Hola, ¿cómo están? (Informal Plural)	Hi. How’re you?
¿Qué hay de nuevo?	What’s new?
¿Cómo te va? (Informal Singular)	How’s it going?
¿Cómo les va? (Informal Plural)	How’s it going?
¿Qué onda?	What’s up?
¿Qué pasa?	What’s up?
¿Cómo van las cosas?	How are things?

Here are some exercises on the subject:
And you can download it Here