Measure before buying in Valencian
Taking measurements at the furniture shop and buying a shelving unit in Valencian. 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 morning. I am looking for a shelving unit for this alcove, but first I want to take the 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: taking measurements at the furniture shop and buying a shelving 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 morning. I am looking for a shelving unit for this alcove, but first I want to take the measurements.
- Sens dubte. Amb el metre: un metre d'amplada, trenta centímetres de fondària i dos metres d'alçada.Of course. With the meter: one meter of width, thirty centimeters of depth and two meters of height.
- Perfecte. I quant pesa? Al tercer pis, les escales són molt estretes.Perfect. And how much does it weigh? On the fourth floor the stairs 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, we deliver it home tomorrow morning.
- Molt bé. I quant costa en total? Em pot donar una xifra aproximada?Very good. And how much does it cost in total? Can you give me an approximate figure?
- Uns cent vint euros, de mitjana. Hui en tenim una d'exposició, quasi buida i amb descompte.About one hundred and twenty euros, on average. Today we have a display one, almost empty and with a discount.
Lines one by one
| Valencian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures. | — | Good morning. I am looking for a shelving unit for this alcove, but first I want to take the measurements. |
| Sens dubte. Amb el metre: un metre d'amplada, trenta centímetres de fondària i dos metres d'alçada. | — | Of course. With the meter: one meter of width, thirty centimeters of depth and two meters of height. |
| Perfecte. I quant pesa? Al tercer pis, les escales són molt estretes. | — | Perfect. And how much does it weigh? On the fourth floor the stairs 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, we deliver it home tomorrow morning. |
| Molt bé. I quant costa en total? Em pot donar una xifra aproximada? | — | Very good. And how much does it cost in total? Can you give me an approximate figure? |
| Uns cent vint euros, de mitjana. Hui en tenim una d'exposició, quasi buida i amb descompte. | — | About one hundred and twenty euros, on average. Today we have 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 Valencian in this situation?
“Bon dia. Busco una prestatgeria per a aquesta fornícula, però primer en vull fer les mesures.” — Good morning. I am looking for a shelving unit for this alcove, but first I want to take the 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.