Go shopping in Spanish
The short answer
Busco una camisa means “I’m looking for a shirt”. ¿Cuánto cuesta? asks how much it costs. To ask to try the shirt on, say ¿Puedo probármela? The short dialogue below keeps the shirt as the item being discussed throughout.
Follow the conversation
Read both roles, then cover one speaker’s lines and try to respond.
Customer
Hola, busco una camisa blanca.
Hello, I’m looking for a white shirt.
Staff
¿Qué talla necesita?
What size do you need?
Customer
La talla mediana, por favor.
Medium, please.
Staff
Aquí tiene.
Here you are.
Customer
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
Staff
Cuesta veinte euros.
It costs twenty euros.
Customer
¿Puedo probármela?
Can I try it on?
Staff
Sí, el probador está allí.
Yes, the fitting room is over there.
Name the item and the size
Use busco when you want help finding something. Talla means clothing size. The adjective blanca agrees with the feminine noun camisa; don’t treat colour words as fixed labels in every sentence.
Busco una camisa blanca.
I’m looking for a white shirt.
Camisa and blanca are both feminine singular.
¿Tiene una talla más grande?
Do you have a larger size?
Tiene uses the formal usted form when addressing one staff member.
Ask the price and try the item on
Use cuesta for one item and cuestan for more than one. In probármela, me belongs to probarse, meaning to try clothing on, and la refers back to la camisa. A masculine item would use lo instead.
¿Cuánto cuestan estas camisas?
How much do these shirts cost?
The plural camisas takes cuestan.
¿Puedo probármela?
Can I try it on?
La refers to the shirt in this conversation. Keep the written accent in probármela.
Try it yourself
Complete the sentence for the situation. Say it aloud before revealing the answer.
Ask for a white shirt using camisa.
Busco una ___ blanca.
Check answer 1
Busco una camisa blanca.
Una camisa blanca is one white shirt.
Ask the price of several shirts using costar.
¿Cuánto ___ estas camisas?
Check answer 2
¿Cuánto cuestan estas camisas?
The plural subject camisas requires cuestan.
Refer back to one shirt: la camisa.
¿Puedo probárme___?
Check answer 3
¿Puedo probármela?
La replaces the feminine singular item. The complete word is probármela.
Make it your own
Ask for a shirt, choose a size, ask its price, and ask to try it on. Repeat the exchange without the translations before changing the item.
Usage references
These Spanish-language references support the usage explained here. Examples, dialogues and exercises are written for Bilvo.