Shopping and money in Catalan
85 words Catalan words on the topic “shopping and money”: quant costa? — how much is it?, l'euro — euro, la botiga — shop, el mercat — market.
85 words on the topic
- quant costa?how much is it?For one thing: quant costa? For several: quant costen? The verb agrees with the goods, not the buyer
- l'euroeuroIt changes in the plural: un euro, dos euros. The cents are els cèntims
- la botigashopCatalonia's own word: the Spanish tienda is not used here. Botiga de tot — a shop of a little bit of everything
- el mercatmarketThe covered city market is el mercat; the street market on certain days is el mercadillo — a word that arrived from Spanish
- el taulellcounterThe double ll is one fused ly sound: tuh-LYEL. The market counter is a taulell de mercat
- el venedorsellerFrom vendre, to sell. Feminine la venedora: the gender lives in the ending
- el compradorbuyerFrom comprar, to buy — a word shared with Spanish. A woman buyer is la compradora
- la balançascalesbuh-LAN-suh: the ç is always s. Hence balança comercial — the trade balance
- el quilokiloThe short form of quilogram, like English 'kilo'. Un quilo de préssecs — a kilo of peaches
- la meitathalfmuh-TAT. La meitat de quilo — half a kilo. The same word is half a watermelon and half past five
- frescfreshThe final c devoices to k: fresk. Feminine fresca. Peix fresc is shouted at the market every morning
- madurripemuh-DOOR. Feminine madura, and there also 'mature' about a person: one word, different backing
- l'etiquetaprice tagThe tag on the shelf is l'etiqueta del preu. The same word is the label on clothes
- carexpensiveFeminine cara. És massa car — it's too expensive: a phrase you will say on day one
- baratcheapFeminine barata. The car/barat pair is the first one in any shop
- el descomptediscountFrom descomptar, to subtract. Un descompte del deu per cent — a ten percent discount
- el canvichange (money)The same word means 'exchange' and 'change': cambiar de moneda — to change money. El canvi, gràcies — keep the change
- els efectiuscashOnly in the plural. The cashier's question: en efectiu o amb targeta? — cash or card?
- la targetacardBoth 'card' and 'postcard': targeta postal. Targeta de crèdit — a credit card
- el tiquetreceiptWith a q in the middle: tee-KEHT. The same word is a cinema ticket
- Quant és?how much do I owe?Literally 'how much is it?'. A close relative of quant costa? from the basics — both ask the price
- És car.it's expensiveAssembled from és, 'is', and car. To strengthen it: és massa car — too expensive
- Es pot més barat?can you go cheaper?Literally 'can (one) more cheaply?'. Haggling at a Catalan market is normal — this question is expected there
- Els agafo.I take itFrom agafar, to take: the central norm says agafo, Valencian says agafe. Agafa! — catch!
- No el necessito.I don't need itFrom necessitar, to need. The el here is 'it': no el necessito — I don't need it
- Un altre, si us plau.one moreAltre is 'other' and 'one more'. Feminine una altra. At the market people say it pointing at the crate
- prouenoughA word-gesture: prou! — that's enough! The second sense is 'quite': és prou bo — it's good enough
- en totalin totalLiterally 'in the total'. The cashier ends with it: són sis euros en total
- el supermercatsupermarketIts own word, not the Spanish supermercado: one letter apart, and the letter is a marker. The little shop by the house is el comerç de barri
- el cistellbasketThe woven market basket and the supermarket basket are one word. Cistella de compra — the shopping basket
- la cuaqueueThe same word means 'tail': a queue here is a tail. Fer cua — to stand in line
- la caixacheckoutBoth 'checkout' and 'box': caixa de llumins — a box of matches. Caixa on a bank's sign is the counter, literally
- la bossabagBoth a bag and a plastic one: bossa de plàstic. They ask: vols bossa? — do you want a bag?
- obertopenoo-BERT. Feminine oberta. The door signs obert / tancat — learn them before everything else
- tancatclosedFrom tancar, to close. The same word is a 'closed question' and a closed-off person
- triarto chooseThe jo form is trïo, with a diaeresis: two i's in a row need separating. Hence tria — the choice
- la midasizeMEE-duh. On clothing the size is la talla, on shoes too: mida is about things in general
- mésmoreWith the accent it is 'more'; without it, the conjunction 'but' of letters. The partner of menys, less
- menyslessTen minus five is deu menys cinc: the same word works as minus
- pesatheavyFrom pes, weight. The second sense is 'annoying': ets pesat — you are unbearable
- lleugerlightlyuh-ZHER: the ll is ly, the g before e is a zh. The partner of pesat
- nounewThe same word as 'nine': nou llibres nous — nine new books. A Catalan tells them apart only by their place in the phrase
- velloldAbout things; about a person they say gran or ancià. Feminine vella. El país dels vells — the old folks' country: how they joke about old Europe
- trencatbrokenFrom trencar, to break. Vidre trencat — broken glass, the label on the bin
- el paquetpackA twin word: you knew it as a package — and it is also a pack. Un paquet de galetes — a pack of cookies; package and pack are one paquet
- el vidreglass (material)Masculine. One word — both the material and the tumbler: un got de vidre. It breaks with the same ring as everywhere
- el metallmetalAn international word, stress on the -tall. Keys and spoons are of it: les claus són de metall
- el plàsticplastic (material)An international word, stress on the à. Light, cheap and eternal: el recipient és de plàstic
- el paperpaperMasculine. One word — both the material and the sheet: escriu l'adreça en un paper. Wallpaper is already el paper pintat
- resistentsturdyThe participle of resistir — to resist: sturdy here is "resisting". A backpack is tested exactly so: és molt resistent?
- de qualitathigh-qualityLiterally "of quality": the adjective lives with the preposition. The opposite: barat i dolent — cheap and bad
- el centre comercialshopping mallLiterally "a commercial center": both words you know. It is cold inside and easy to get lost — look for el plànol at the entrance
- l'aparadorshop windowLiterally "at-the-wall": a shop window here is a "against-waller". Window shopping is a free sport: mirar aparadors sense entrar
- el caixercashierMasculine; a woman is la caixera. You knew el caixer automàtic — the cash machine: both "count" money
- la comprashopping (purchase)From comprar — to buy: a purchase here is a "bought thing". Fer la compra — to do the weekly shopping: not one purchase but an expedition
- la targeta de fidelitzacióloyalty cardLiterally "a card of fidelity": the shop is faithful to you if you are faithful to it. At the till they always ask: té la targeta de fidelització?
- l'embolcall de regalgift wrappingLiterally "the wrapping of the gift": embolcall from embolicar — to wrap. The polite request: el volen en embolcall de regal
- el carretshopping cartA diminutive of càrrec — the load: a cart here is a "little porter". A coin is needed to release it: cal una moneda pel carret
- canviar el producteto exchange the itemThe same canviar as changing the channel: the item is "changed". An exchange is not a return: no money back, yes the thing
- tramitar la devolucióto process the returnTramitar — to process, as documents at an office: a return here is also "processing". You knew la devolució — the return of goods
- defectuósdefectiveFrom el defecte — the defect: faulty here is 'defectuous'. Said of appliances and goods alike: l'aparell era defectuós
- no anava bé la midathe size did not fitLiterally "the size did not go well": anar bé — to fit. You know la mida — the size: here is its main use
- guardar el tiquetto keep the receiptLiterally "to keep the receipt": the same guardar as keeping money. No receipt, no return: rule number one
- és una falsificacióit is a fakeFrom falsificar — to falsify: a fake here is a "falsification". The sign is simple: mira el preu — look at the price
- el producte està en estocin stockLiterally "in the stock": l'estoc — the warehouse stock, a relative of the stock of shares. The opposite — esgotat: sold out
- canviar de colorto exchange for another colorLiterally "to change colors": the preposition de means "to". Color is the most frequent reason for exchange: el negre no em queda bé
- el rellotge de màwristwatchLiterally "a watch of the hand": the de mà distinguishes it from the wall clock. In full: rellotge de pols — literally "of the pulse"
- el perfumperfumeLiterally "through-smoke": from the Latin per fumum — so the incense smelled. Perfume is the most frequent birthday present
- els cosmèticscosmeticsMasculine and more often plural: cosmetics here come as "several". La caixa de cosmètics — the makeup bag
- de segona màsecond-handLiterally "from the second hand": la mà — the hand. Second-hand markets are a universe of their own: mercats de segona mà
- regatejarto haggleA word from football: regatejar is both to dribble past an opponent and to knock down a price. At the market — yes, at the shop — no
- la llibreriabookshopThe false friend: la llibreria sells books, la biblioteca lends them. The bookshop in the village closes at eight
- a l'engròswholesaleLiterally "in the gross": in bulk, not by unit. The restaurant buys oil wholesale once every three months and saves a lot
- el termini de garantiawarranty periodLiterally "the term of warranty": the warranty's span. It starts on the day of the receipt, not of the first use
- per encàrrecmade to orderLiterally "by commission": ordered, not stocked. This cake is made to order: grandma orders it for every birthday
- prendreto take'Take' here means 'take for oneself': prendre. Prendre un cafè — to have a coffee: said every day. The jo form is prenc
- donarto giveduh-NAH — the same word as 'to gift'. Donar les gràcies — to thank: an everyday turn
- comprarto buykoom-PRAH, an international word. Comprar fruita — to buy fruit: the market awaits
- pagarto paypuh-GAH. Pago amb targeta — I pay by card: an everyday phrase
- posarto put'Put', 'set' and 'put on' are one word: posar. Posar la taula — to set the table
- buscarto look forboos-KAH — a familiar word, the neighbors say it too. Busco feina — I'm looking for a job
- trobarto findtroo-BAH. No el trobo — I can't find it: what you say when the keys vanish
- mostrarto showmoos-TRAH — Latin "to show". Em pot mostrar…? — could you show me…?: a polite request
- volerto wantvoo-LEH, irregular: vull, vols, vol — you know vull. Vol means both "wants" and "flies": stress divides them
- podercanpoo-DEH, irregular: puc, pots, pot. No puc venir — I can't come: a rescue word
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Quant costa el cafè?How much is the coffee?
- El cafè costa un euro vintThe coffee costs one twenty
- La botiga de l'angle obre els diumengesThe shop on the corner opens on Sundays
- Els dissabtes vaig al mercat a comprar fruitaOn Saturdays I go to the market for fruit
- El taulell de peix és al fonsThe fish counter is at the back
- El venedor pesa els tomàquetsThe seller weighs the tomatoes
What is worth knowing about these words
quant costa? — how much is it?. For one thing: quant costa? For several: quant costen? The verb agrees with the goods, not the buyer
l'euro — euro. It changes in the plural: un euro, dos euros. The cents are els cèntims
la botiga — shop. Catalonia's own word: the Spanish tienda is not used here. Botiga de tot — a shop of a little bit of everything
el mercat — market. The covered city market is el mercat; the street market on certain days is el mercadillo — a word that arrived from Spanish
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “how much is it?” in Catalan?
For one thing: quant costa? For several: quant costen? The verb agrees with the goods, not the buyer
- How do you say “scales” in Catalan?
buh-LAN-suh: the ç is always s. Hence balança comercial — the trade balance
- How do you say “cheap” in Catalan?
Feminine barata. The car/barat pair is the first one in any shop
- How do you say “it's expensive” in Catalan?
Assembled from és, 'is', and car. To strengthen it: és massa car — too expensive
- How do you say “supermarket” in Catalan?
Its own word, not the Spanish supermercado: one letter apart, and the letter is a marker. The little shop by the house is el comerç de barri
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
How much it costs, whether there is a smaller one, whether cards are accepted. A shop forgives mistakes: miss a word and they will show you the thing with their hands anyway.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “how much is it?” in Catalan?
«quant costa?» For one thing: quant costa? For several: quant costen? The verb agrees with the goods, not the buyer. It is one of 85 words in the set “shopping and money” — the rest are in the table above.
How many shopping words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 85 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.