01 · The question that starts every purchase
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
The one phrase that works in every store, in every country — start here, always.
andbefluent.com/spanish/shopaholic
Shopaholic
Name what you want to buy — item, size, and color — and ask for it out loud.
Start with the core wardrobe: la camisa (shirt), los pantalones (pants), el vestido (dress), la chaqueta (jacket), los zapatos (shoes). But t-shirt is the word that reveals where you learned your Spanish: textbooks say la camiseta, Mexico says la playera, Argentina la remera, Colombia and Venezuela la franela. Sizes stay merciful — pequeño, mediano, grande — and in a store four phrases do most of the work: ¿Cuánto cuesta?, ¿Tiene en talla…?, ¿Puedo probármelo?, and Me lo llevo.
Below: the words lesson by lesson, what each item is actually called country to country, the slips that give beginners away — and a way to learn it all by saying it in a real shop conversation, no flashcards.
The warm-up pack
The phrases that carry you from browsing to walking out with the bag.
01 · The question that starts every purchase
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
The one phrase that works in every store, in every country — start here, always.
02 · Getting your size
¿Tiene en talla…?
Do you have this in size…?
Name the item, then trail off with talla and your number — the assistant fills in the rest.
03 · Before you commit
¿Puedo probármelo?
Can I try it on?
Probármelo never means "probable" — it comes from probar, to try.
04 · Making the decision
Me lo llevo.
I'll take it.
The two words that end the negotiation, understood everywhere in Latin America.
05 · No pressure
Estoy mirando.
I'm just looking.
The polite line that buys you space from an eager assistant — no explanation needed.
06 · The fuller, softer version
Solo estoy mirando, gracias.
I'm just looking, thanks. (Colombia)
Adding gracias turns a deflection into something warm instead of a brush-off.
07 · Reporting back on the fit
Me queda apretadito.
It's a little tight on me.
The diminutive -ito softens it — genuinely useful the moment something doesn't quite fit.
08 · Asking the formal way
¿Qué talla usa?
What size do you wear?
Usa keeps it formal — swap for usás in Argentina if you want the local voseo.
09 · The Argentine color check
¿Lo tenés en otro color?
Do you have it in another color? (Argentina, voseo)
Tenés is voseo for tienes — Argentina conjugates differently, and this is where you'll hear it first.
10 · The casual price check
¿En cuánto sale?
How much does it come out to? (Mexico)
Mexican shorthand for cuánto cuesta — sounds like you shop there regularly.
11 · Good news at the register
Está en oferta.
It's on sale.
Pair it with descuento — either way, it means you're about to pay less.
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/shopaholicRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| t-shirt | la playera | la remera |
| sneakers | los tenis | las zapatillas |
| jacket | la chamarra | la campera |
| socks | los calcetines | las medias |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no picture-matching. In the Shopaholic lessons, Olivia hands you the situations where the words actually live: you're in a store after a new shirt — ask ¿tiene en talla…? with the size you need, find el probador, check ¿cuánto cuesta?, and make the call: me lo llevo — or a polite estoy mirando and keep walking. Six lessons, every word said out loud in context until it's yours.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Shopaholic is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
The textbook word is la camiseta, but locals rarely stop there: Mexico says la playera, Argentina la remera, and Colombia and Venezuela la franela. Pick your region's word and you'll sound like you shop there.
¿Puedo probármelo? — can I try it on? You'll also hear ¿me lo puedo probar?, which works just as well. The fitting room is el probador — in Colombia, el vestier.
¿Cuánto cuesta? is the universal question. Casual Mexico asks ¿en cuánto sale?, and Argentina ¿cuánto sale?. If it's on sale you'll hear está en oferta or está rebajado — good news either way.
Ask with la talla: ¿Tiene en talla…? plus pequeño, mediano or grande. Mexico casually says chico/mediano/grande, and Argentina uses el talle: ¿tenés el talle M? Remember Latin America uses European sizing, not US numbers.
Estoy mirando — I'm just looking. In Colombia the polite standard is solo estoy mirando, gracias. And when you do decide: me lo llevo, I'll take it.