Basic numbers: Paying the grocery bill

💬 sueltos literally means "loose", and here it means coins or small change. Spanish uses suelto on its own to mean "change" too: ¿Tiene suelto?

🇪🇸 Cashiers often ask this so they can hand back a neat note instead of a pile of coins. Dig through your purse if you can, since it's appreciated.

💬 le here means "to you" in the polite form and comes before the verb. Swap the verb and keep it there: le doy "I give you".

💬 tique is Spain's spelling of the English "ticket", and you'll also see ticket written as is. recibo also means "receipt" and works everywhere.

🇪🇸 Asking with me da (literally "do you give me") is the normal, polite way to request things at a counter in Spain. It isn't blunt the way it might sound in English.

🇪🇸 This is the standard goodbye when leaving a shop, even if you'll never see the cashier again. It's warmer than adiós "goodbye" in this setting.

🇪🇸 When the cashier says gracias "thanks", answering a usted turns the thanks back to them. It's the polite reflex at the till.