La mesura abans de comprar in Catalan
At the furniture shop we take measurements and buy a shelf unit in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures.» — Good afternoon. I am looking for a shelf unit for this niche, but first I want to take measurements. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the furniture shop we take measurements and buy a shelf unit. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures.Good afternoon. I am looking for a shelf unit for this niche, but first I want to take measurements.
- Sens dubte. Amb el metre: un metre d'amplada, trenta centímetres de fondària i dos metres d'alçada.Of course. We measure with the meter: one meter wide, thirty centimeters deep and two high.
- Perfecte. I quant pesa? Al tercer pis, les escales són molt estretes.Great. And how much does it weigh? The stairs to the fourth floor are very narrow.
- Vint quilos, gairebé res. I si vol, el lliurem a casa demà al matí.Twenty kilos, almost nothing. And if you like, tomorrow morning we will deliver it home.
- Molt bé. I quant costa en total? Em pot donar una xifra aproximada?Very good. And how much does it cost in total? Could you give an approximate figure?
- Uns cent vint euros, de mitjana. Avui en tenim una d'exposició, quasi buida i amb descompte.About a hundred and twenty euros on average. Today there is a display one, almost empty and with a discount.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures. | — | Good afternoon. I am looking for a shelf unit for this niche, but first I want to take measurements. |
| Sens dubte. Amb el metre: un metre d'amplada, trenta centímetres de fondària i dos metres d'alçada. | — | Of course. We measure with the meter: one meter wide, thirty centimeters deep and two high. |
| Perfecte. I quant pesa? Al tercer pis, les escales són molt estretes. | — | Great. And how much does it weigh? The stairs to the fourth floor are very narrow. |
| Vint quilos, gairebé res. I si vol, el lliurem a casa demà al matí. | — | Twenty kilos, almost nothing. And if you like, tomorrow morning we will deliver it home. |
| Molt bé. I quant costa en total? Em pot donar una xifra aproximada? | — | Very good. And how much does it cost in total? Could you give an approximate figure? |
| Uns cent vint euros, de mitjana. Avui en tenim una d'exposició, quasi buida i amb descompte. | — | About a hundred and twenty euros on average. Today there is a display one, almost empty and with a discount. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Catalan in this situation?
“Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures.” — Good afternoon. I am looking for a shelf unit for this niche, but first I want to take measurements.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.