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Shopping and money in Catalan

85 words in Catalan on the topic “shopping and money”: quant costa? — how much is it?, l'euro — euro, la botiga — shop, el mercat — market. 85 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

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'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
  • el taulell
    counter
    The double ll is one fused ly sound: tuh-LYEL. The market counter is a taulell de mercat
  • el venedor
    seller
    From vendre, to sell. Feminine la venedora: the gender lives in the ending
  • el comprador
    buyer
    From comprar, to buy — a word shared with Spanish. A woman buyer is la compradora
  • la balança
    scales
    buh-LAN-suh: the ç is always s. Hence balança comercial — the trade balance
  • el quilo
    kilo
    The short form of quilogram, like English 'kilo'. Un quilo de préssecs — a kilo of peaches
  • la meitat
    half
    muh-TAT. La meitat de quilo — half a kilo. The same word is half a watermelon and half past five
  • fresc
    fresh
    The final c devoices to k: fresk. Feminine fresca. Peix fresc is shouted at the market every morning
  • madur
    ripe
    muh-DOOR. Feminine madura, and there also 'mature' about a person: one word, different backing
  • l'etiqueta
    price tag
    The tag on the shelf is l'etiqueta del preu. The same word is the label on clothes
  • car
    expensive
    Feminine cara. És massa car — it's too expensive: a phrase you will say on day one
  • barat
    cheap
    Feminine barata. The car/barat pair is the first one in any shop
  • el descompte
    discount
    From descomptar, to subtract. Un descompte del deu per cent — a ten percent discount
  • el canvi
    change (money)
    The same word for «exchange» and «change»: «canviar diners» — to change money. «Quedi's el canvi» — keep the change
  • l'efectiu
    cash
    In this sense, singular and invariable only. The cashier's question: en efectiu o amb targeta? — cash or card?
  • la targeta
    card
    Both 'card' and 'postcard': targeta postal. Targeta de crèdit — a credit card
  • el tiquet
    receipt
    With 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? — both ask the price
  • És car.
    it's expensive
    Assembled 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 it
    From agafar, to take: the central norm says agafo, Valencian says agafe. Agafa! — catch!
  • No el necessito.
    I don't need it
    From necessitar, to need. The el here is 'it': no el necessito — I don't need it
  • Un altre, si us plau.
    one more
    Altre is 'other' and 'one more'. Feminine una altra. At the market people say it pointing at the crate
  • prou
    enough
    A word-gesture: prou! — that's enough! The second sense is 'quite': és prou bo — it's good enough
  • en total
    in total
    Literally 'in the total'. The cashier ends with it: són sis euros en total
  • el supermercat
    supermarket
    Its own word, not the Spanish supermercado: a different ending, -at instead of -ado. The little shop by the house is el comerç de barri
  • el cistell
    basket
    The woven market basket and the supermarket basket are one word. Cistella de compra — the shopping basket
  • la cua
    queue
    The same word means 'tail': a queue here is a tail. Fer cua — to stand in line
  • la caixa
    checkout
    Both 'checkout' and 'box': caixa de llumins — a box of matches. Caixa on a bank's sign is the counter, literally
  • la bossa
    bag
    Both a bag and a plastic one: bossa de plàstic. They ask: vols bossa? — do you want a bag?
  • obert
    open
    oo-BERT. Feminine oberta. The door signs obert / tancat — learn them before everything else
  • tancat
    closed
    From tancar, to close. The same word is a 'closed question' and a closed-off person
  • triar
    to choose
    The jo form is trio, with no diaeresis: -iar verbs conjugate this simply. Hence tria — the choice
  • la mida
    size
    MEE-duh. On clothing the size is la talla, on shoes too: mida is about things in general
  • més
    more
    With the accent it is 'more'; without it, 'month', or the literary conjunction 'but'. The partner of menys, less
  • menys
    less
    Ten minus five is deu menys cinc: the same word works as minus
  • pesat
    heavy
    From pes, weight. The second sense is 'annoying': ets pesat — you are unbearable
  • lleuger
    light
    lyuh-ZHER: the ll is ly, the g before e is a zh. The partner of pesat
  • nou
    new
    The same word as 'nine': nou llibres nous — nine new books. A Catalan tells them apart only by their place in the phrase
  • vell
    old
    About 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
  • trencat
    broken
    From trencar, to break. Vidre trencat — broken glass, the label on the bin
  • el paquet
    pack
    A twin word: both a parcel and a pack. Un paquet de galetes — a pack of cookies; package and pack are one paquet
  • el vidre
    glass (material)
    Masculine. One word — both the material and the tumbler: un got de vidre. It breaks with the same ring as everywhere
  • el metall
    metal
    An international word, stress on the -tall. Keys and spoons are of it: les claus són de metall
  • el plàstic
    plastic (material)
    An international word, stress on the à. Light, cheap and eternal: el recipient és de plàstic
  • el paper
    paper
    Masculine. One word — both the material and the sheet: escriu l'adreça en un paper. Wallpaper is already el paper pintat
  • resistent
    sturdy
    The participle of resistir — to resist: sturdy here is "resisting". A backpack is tested exactly so: és molt resistent?
  • de qualitat
    high-quality
    Literally "of quality": the adjective lives with the preposition. The opposite: barat i dolent — cheap and bad
  • el centre comercial
    shopping mall
    Literally "a commercial center": centre plus comercial. It is cold inside and easy to get lost — look for el plànol at the entrance
  • l'aparador
    shop window
    From aparar — to set out for display: a shop window here is "the displayer". Window shopping is a free sport: mirar aparadors sense entrar
  • el caixer
    cashier
    Masculine; a woman is la caixera. Next to it, el caixer automàtic — the cash machine: both "count" money
  • la compra
    shopping (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 fidelització
    loyalty card
    Literally "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 regal
    gift wrapping
    Literally «wrapping of a present». To wrap is «embolicar»: «Me'l pot embolicar?» — could you wrap it?
  • el carret
    shopping cart
    A diminutive of «carro», cart. You need a coin to unhook it: «cal una moneda pel carret»
  • canviar el producte
    to exchange the item
    The same canviar as changing the channel: the item is "changed". An exchange is not a return: no money back, yes the thing
  • tramitar la devolució
    to process the return
    Tramitar — to process, as documents at an office: a return here is also "processing". La devolució is the return of goods
  • defectuós
    defective
    From el defecte — the defect: faulty here is 'defectuous'. Said of appliances and goods alike: l'aparell era defectuós
  • no anava bé la mida
    the size did not fit
    Literally "the size did not go well": anar bé — to fit. La mida is the size: here is its main use
  • guardar el tiquet
    to keep the receipt
    Literally "to keep the receipt": the same guardar as keeping money. No receipt, no return: rule number one
  • és una falsificació
    it is a fake
    From falsificar — to falsify: a fake here is a "falsification". The sign is simple: mira el preu — look at the price
  • el producte està en estoc
    in stock
    Literally "in the stock": l'estoc — the warehouse stock, a relative of the stock of shares. The opposite — esgotat: sold out
  • canviar de color
    to exchange for another color
    Literally "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 mà
    wristwatch
    Literally «watch of the hand»: «de mà» sets it apart from wall clocks. People also say «rellotge de polsera» — «bracelet watch»
  • el perfum
    perfume
    Literally "through-smoke": from the Latin per fumum — so the incense smelled. Perfume is the most frequent birthday present
  • els cosmètics
    cosmetics
    Masculine and more often plural: cosmetics here come as "several". La caixa de cosmètics — the makeup bag
  • de segona mà
    second-hand
    Literally "from the second hand": la mà — the hand. Second-hand markets are a universe of their own: mercats de segona mà
  • regatejar
    to haggle
    A 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 llibreria
    bookshop
    The false friend: la llibreria sells books, la biblioteca lends them. The bookshop in the village closes at eight
  • a l'engròs
    wholesale
    Literally "in the gross": in bulk, not by unit. The restaurant buys oil wholesale once every three months and saves a lot
  • el termini de garantia
    warranty period
    Literally "the term of warranty": the warranty's span. It starts on the day of the receipt, not of the first use
  • per encàrrec
    made to order
    Literally "by commission": ordered, not stocked. This cake is made to order: grandma orders it for every birthday
  • prendre
    to take
    'Take' here means 'take for oneself': prendre. Prendre un cafè — to have a coffee: said every day. The jo form is prenc
  • donar
    to give
    duh-NAH — the same word as 'to gift'. Donar les gràcies — to thank: an everyday turn
  • comprar
    to buy
    koom-PRAH, an international word. Comprar fruita — to buy fruit: the market awaits
  • pagar
    to pay
    puh-GAH. Pago amb targeta — I pay by card: an everyday phrase
  • posar
    to put
    'Put', 'set' and 'put on' are one word: posar. Posar la taula — to set the table
  • buscar
    to look for
    boos-KAH — close to the Spanish word too. Busco feina — I'm looking for a job
  • trobar
    to find
    troo-BAH. No el trobo — I can't find it: what you say when the keys vanish
  • mostrar
    to show
    moos-TRAH — Latin "to show". Em pot mostrar…? — could you show me…?: a polite request
  • voler
    to want
    voo-LEH, irregular: vull, vols, vol. Vol is both "wants" and "a flight": only the sense tells them apart
  • poder
    can
    poo-DEH, irregular: puc, pots, pot. No puc venir — I can't come: a rescue word

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

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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.

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

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “how much is it?” in Catalan?

  2. How do you say “scales” in Catalan?

  3. How do you say “cheap” in Catalan?

  4. How do you say “it's expensive” in Catalan?

  5. How do you say “supermarket” in Catalan?

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.

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?

The whole set on this page is 85 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 85 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

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