Shops that end in -ería
Many shop names are built from what they sell plus -ería, like la frutería.
| it sells | the shop |
|---|---|
| el papel (paper) | la papelería (the stationery shop) |
| el pastel (cake) | la pastelería (the cake shop) |
| el libro (book) | la librería (the bookshop) |
Careful: la librería sells books, but a library is la biblioteca.
| I buy the notebooks at the stationery shop. | Compro los cuadernos en la papelería. |
| In this cake shop they make really tasty cakes. | En esta pastelería hacen unas tartas riquísimas. |
El quiosco
A quiosco is a small stand in the street or in a square that sells newspapers and magazines.
| My grandfather buys the newspaper at the kiosk. | Mi abuelo compra el periódico en el quiosco. |
The people who serve you
El dependiente serves you in a shop; el vendedor is anyone who sells — in a shop, in the street or for a company. El cajero (la cajera) takes your money at the register; the ATM is el cajero automático.
| The cashier takes a long time to give me the change. | La cajera tarda mucho en darme la vuelta. |
La cola
You know la cola as an animal's tail. At a shop it is also the queue: hacer cola is to stand in line, and hay mucha cola means the line is long.
| We've been in the line for twenty minutes. | Llevamos veinte minutos en la cola. |
Gratis or gratuito?
Both mean free of charge. Gratis never changes; gratuito agrees with its noun (gratuita, gratuitos…) and sounds a little more formal — you will often see it on signs.
| Admission to the museum is free on Sundays. | La entrada al museo es gratuita los domingos. |
Comercial
Comercial describes anything to do with shops or selling: una zona comercial (a shopping area), el director comercial (the sales director).
| We live in a shopping area. | Vivimos en una zona comercial. |
