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Spanish · Mercado / frutería

You buy fish and ask if it is fresh: what to say in Spanish

You buy fish and ask whether it is fresh.

Mercado / frutería7 linesLevel A2For life in Spain The rest of the dialogue is in the app
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How it's done. Fish: fresco (fresh), limpio (cleaned), sin espinas (boneless); at the fishmonger ask them to clean it and remove the head: quítele la cabeza.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.

Cheat sheet for your visit

The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.

1
YOU START
Buenos días, ¿el pescado es fresco de hoy?
Boo-EH-nos DEE-uhs, el pes-KAH-doh es FRES-koh deh oy?
Good morning, is the fish fresh today?
THEY SAY
Sí, ha llegado esta mañana.
See, uh yeh-GAH-doh ES-tuh muh-NYAH-nuh.
Yes, it arrived this morning.
They might also say:
Sí, de la lonja de esta mañana.
See, deh lah LOHN-khuh deh ES-tuh muh-NYAH-nuh.
Yes, from this morning's catch.
in the app
2
YOU REPLY
Póngame dos doradas, limpias, por favor.
POHN-guh-meh dos doh-RAH-duhs, LEEM-pyuhs, por fuh-BOR.
Give me two sea bream, cleaned, please.
THEY SAY
Claro. ¿Le quito la cabeza?
KLAH-roh. Leh KEE-toh lah kuh-BEH-suh?
Of course. Shall I take the head off?
in the app
3
YOU REPLY
Sí, gracias.
See, GRAH-syuhs.
Yes, thanks.
THEY SAY
Aquí tiene. Son nueve euros.
Uh-KEE TYEH-neh. Sohn noo-EH-beh EH-oo-ros.
Here you are. That's nine euros.
in the app
4
YOU FINISH
Gracias. Hasta luego.
GRAH-syuhs. AHS-tuh loo-EH-goh.
Thanks. See you later.

The course is in the app

This dialogue is part of the course “Spanish for life in Spain”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.

Open in the App Store
On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.

Words worth knowing

Buenos
Boo-EH-nos
adjective
good (masc. plural)
días
DEE-uhs
noun
days
pescado
pes-KAH-doh
noun
fish (as food)
es
es
verb
is
fresco
FRES-koh
adjective
fresh
hoy
oy
adverb
today

24 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.

If you did not understand

¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh reh-peh-TEER-loh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you repeat that, please?
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh uh-BLAHR mahs des-PAH-syoh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
¿Qué significa esto?
Keh seeg-nee-FEE-kuh ES-toh?
What does this mean?

All 21 rescue phrases in Spanish →

Similar situations

You buy eggs and bread at the marketMercado / frutería · A1 in the app
→
You pay in cash at the marketMercado / frutería · A2 in the app
→
You ask for advice on what to chooseMercado / frutería · B1 in the app
→
You ask whether you can try it before buyingMercado / frutería · A2 in the app
→
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The rest of the dialogue is in MovkoDownload