Spanish supermarket words: 25 words for food shopping in Spain

🇪🇸 SpanishA1–A225 words

Food shopping in Spain means supermarkets, neighbourhood fruterías and covered markets. This list covers the counters, weights, packaging and checkout phrases you need — la charcutería, medio kilo, ¿me da una bolsa? — with examples from a normal shopping trip.

Where you will use it: Supermarkets, markets and food shopping in Spain.

Spanish supermarket and grocery words — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Spanish	Meaning and example
la frutería	Fruit and vegetable shop.“Compramos manzanas en la frutería del barrio.”We buy apples at the neighbourhood fruit and vegetable shop.
la carnicería	Butcher's shop.“La carnicería abre temprano los sábados.”The butcher's opens early on Saturdays.
la pescadería	Fishmonger's shop.“Hoy hemos comprado merluza en la pescadería.”Today we've bought hake at the fishmonger's.
la charcutería	Deli counter; shop selling cured meats.“Pedid el jamón en la charcutería.”Ask for the ham at the deli counter.
el carrito	Shopping trolley.“Dejad el carrito junto a la entrada.”Leave the trolley by the entrance.
la cesta	Shopping basket.“Esta cesta pesa demasiado para mí.”This basket is too heavy for me.
la caja	Checkout.“Hay mucha cola en esta caja.”There's a long queue at this checkout.
el tique	Receipt; till receipt.“Guarda el tique por si necesitas devolverlo.”Keep the receipt in case you need to return it.
la bolsa	Bag.“¿Me da una bolsa, por favor?”Could you give me a bag, please?
el pasillo	Aisle; corridor.“La leche está en el siguiente pasillo.”The milk is in the next aisle.
la oferta	Special offer.“Esta oferta solo incluye los yogures naturales.”This offer only includes plain yoghurts.
el precio por kilo	Price per kilogram.“Comprueba el precio por kilo antes de elegir.”Check the price per kilogram before choosing.
medio kilo	Half a kilogram.“Quería medio kilo de tomates maduros.”I'd like half a kilogram of ripe tomatoes.
a granel	Loose; sold by weight.“Aquí venden las lentejas a granel.”They sell lentils loose here.
la lata	Tin; can.“Necesitamos una lata de tomate triturado.”We need a tin of crushed tomatoes.
el tarro	Jar.“Este tarro de mermelada es de cristal.”This jam jar is made of glass.
el paquete	Packet; pack.“Coge un paquete de arroz integral.”Grab a packet of brown rice.
la bandeja	Tray.“Esta bandeja de champiñones cuesta dos euros.”This tray of mushrooms costs two euros.
la fecha de caducidad	Use-by date.“Comprueba la fecha de caducidad del pollo.”Check the chicken's use-by date.
la leche	Milk.“¿Preferís la leche entera o desnatada?”Do you prefer whole or skimmed milk?
los huevos	Eggs.“Los huevos están junto a la harina.”The eggs are next to the flour.
la harina	Flour.“Necesito harina para preparar unas tortitas.”I need flour to make some pancakes.
el aceite de oliva	Olive oil.“Aliñamos la ensalada con aceite de oliva.”We dress the salad with olive oil.
las legumbres	Pulses; legumes.“Las legumbres cocidas vienen en este tarro.”The cooked pulses come in this jar.
los congelados	Frozen foods.“Buscad los guisantes en la sección de congelados.”Look for peas in the frozen food section.

Tips for learning Spanish words

Learn the article with the nounWrite el billete or la cuenta, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Say every example aloudSpanish is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Play the audio, then read the example aloud — it trains your ear and your pronunciation at once.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing está, mañana and también correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

Spanish as spoken in Spain

Spanish is spoken in more than twenty countries, and everyday words differ between them: a car is a coche in Spain and a carro in much of Latin America, a phone is a móvil rather than a celular. These lists follow Spain's usage — vosotros, coger el tren, el ordenador — and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will still be understood everywhere.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

Spanish word lists →

Questions about this list

Is this Spanish from Spain or Latin America?

Spanish as spoken in Spain. Where Latin America usually uses a different word, the list gives the Spain one — for example coche instead of carro — but every word is understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

How do I practise Spanish supermarket and grocery words?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Spanish word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose Spanish as a study language and add these words to your own deck.