Quick answer
¿Cuánto cuesta esta camisa? ¿La tiene en azul?
How much is this shirt? Do you have it in blue? Three questions cover almost every purchase: price, size, colour.
The words of this lesson
Walking in: the phrase that buys you time
An assistant greets you with ¿le puedo ayudar? If you want to browse, the standard answer is gracias, sólo estoy mirando. Note the estoy: looking around is a state of the moment, so it takes estar.
When you are ready, point and ask ¿cuánto cuesta esta camisa? for one item and ¿cuánto cuestan estos zapatos? for several. The reply is usually son treinta euros — prices answer in the plural too.
Size and colour
Clothes use la talla, shoes use el número, and mixing them up marks you as a beginner instantly: ¿tiene la talla M?, uso el número 42. To try something on, ask ¿puedo probármelo? and look for el probador.
Colours behave like any adjective: they follow the noun and match it. Una camisa blanca, unos zapatos negros, un jersey azul. Colours ending in -e or a consonant — verde, azul, gris, marrón — change only in the plural.
Comparing and paying
To weigh two options, use más and menos: este es más barato, ese es demasiado caro. ¿Tiene algo más barato? is a normal question and not rude. In a sale you will see rebajas in the window.
At the till: ¿puedo pagar con tarjeta?, ¿me da una bolsa, por favor?, and keep el recibo if you may want to return something.
Where you are matters
Spain says <span class="es-inline">las rebajas</span> for the sales, Mexico says <span class="es-inline">las ofertas</span> or <span class="es-inline">barata</span>. A jumper is <span class="es-inline">un jersey</span> in Spain and <span class="es-inline">un suéter</span> in most of Latin America.
Memory trick
Talla for clothes, número for shoes — never the other way round.
A short dialogue
Typical mistakes
¿Qué tamaño tiene en camisas?
¿Qué talla tiene?
Tamaño is the size of an object like a box. Clothes take talla and shoes take número.
¿Cuánto cuesta estos zapatos?
¿Cuánto cuestan estos zapatos?
The verb agrees with the item, so a plural item needs cuestan.
Una camisa blanco.
Una camisa blanca.
Colours are adjectives and match the noun, so a feminine noun takes the -a form.
Practice
Practise these shopping and prices
0/8 matched — tap a Spanish word, then its translation
Check yourself
How do you ask for a clothing size?