01 · Greeting the vendor
Buenos días, ¿cómo está hoy?
Good morning, how are you today?
Markets run on small talk first, business second — skip the greeting and you come across as rushed.
andbefluent.com/spanish/market-day
Market Day
Order produce by weight, ask the price, bargain gently, and pay the vendor — out loud.
At a market, soften every request — ¿Me da dos aguacates? or Quisiera unos tomates maduros sound far more natural than a flat quiero. Order loose produce by metric weight: medio kilo, doscientos gramos, un manojo. And ask the price the way locals do — ¿A cómo está el kilo hoy?, not ¿cuánto cuesta? — then bargain gently with ¿me puede hacer un descuentito?
Below: the phrases for greeting the vendor, ordering by weight, tasting a sample, and paying — plus a way to rehearse a full stall visit out loud before Saturday.
The warm-up pack
The phrases that actually get said at the stall — what you ask for, what it costs, and how to haggle without being rude.
01 · Greeting the vendor
Buenos días, ¿cómo está hoy?
Good morning, how are you today?
Markets run on small talk first, business second — skip the greeting and you come across as rushed.
02 · Browsing without pressure
Solo estoy viendo, gracias.
I'm just looking, thanks.
A vendor will engage the second you slow down near their stall — this buys you room to look without committing to anything.
03 · When your mind goes blank
¿Qué me recomienda hoy?
What do you recommend today?
Hands the conversation back to the vendor and usually gets you whatever's freshest on the stand.
04 · How you actually order
¿Me da dos aguacates, por favor?
Can I have two avocados, please?
Softer than a flat "quiero" — this is the shape locals actually use at a stall.
05 · Ordering by weight
Medio kilo de queso fresco.
Half a kilo of fresh cheese.
Produce and deli goods sell by metric weight, not by the piece — learn this pattern once and it works for anything on the stand.
06 · The question locals ask
¿A cómo está el kilo hoy?
How much is the kilo today?
Asking "¿cuánto cuesta?" for something sold by weight is the tell of a tourist — this is what regulars say.
07 · The gentle bargain
¿Me puede hacer un descuentito?
Could you give me a little discount?
The "-ito" softens it into a friendly ask, not a demand — bargaining here is warm, not tense.
08 · Closing the deal
Está bien, me lo llevo.
Okay, I'll take it.
The simple line that ends the negotiation and moves things along once you're happy with the price.
09 · Trying before you buy
¿Lo puedo probar antes de comprar?
Can I try it before buying?
Completely normal to ask at a market stall — vendors expect it and often offer first.
10 · Giving an honest reaction
Está muy rico, aunque un poco ácido.
It's really tasty, although a bit sour.
You don't have to love everything — a mixed reaction like this is more useful to the vendor than empty praise.
11 · Paying and closing it out
¿Cuánto le debo en total?
How much do I owe you in total?
The line that gets you a real number before you reach for your wallet.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/market-dayRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Market Day pack, the final lesson drops you at Isabella's produce stall on a busy Saturday morning — and she plays the vendor: warm, chatty, proud of her fruit, all usted and '-ito' diminutives, and she always cuts you a slice to taste. You've got a family dinner to shop for, so you ask for each thing by weight, react to a price that's crept up since last week, and pay. Out loud. And she talks back:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Market Day is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
For loose produce, ask the rate, not the cost: ¿A cómo está el kilo hoy? (how much is the kilo today?). Saying ¿cuánto cuesta? sounds off for anything sold by weight.
Keep it light and polite: ¿Me puede hacer un descuentito? (could you give me a little discount?). Or offer volume: Si llevo dos kilos, ¿me lo deja más barato? Bargaining here is friendly, never a demand.
Use metric units: un kilo de papas, medio kilo de queso fresco, doscientos gramos de jamón, una docena de huevos, un manojo de cilantro. Default to kilo and gramos — libra varies by country.
Both mean avocado. Mexico, Colombia and Spain say aguacate; Argentina, Chile and Peru say palta. Same fruit, just pick the word for where you are.
Ask the total, then how they take it: ¿Cuánto le debo en total? and ¿Acepta tarjeta o solo efectivo? Close warmly — Aquí tiene, quédese con el cambio and Vuelvo la próxima semana, hasta luego.