Buying Mangoes at the Market

Key vocabulary

• mangom.

  mango

  “¿Cuánto cuesta un mango?”— How much is one mango?

  Pattern un mango — one mango

  Plural: mangos

  💡 From English mango; a common fruit in Latin American markets; the -o ending marks it as masculine.

• caroadj.

  expensive

  “Es demasiado caro.”— That's too expensive.

  Pattern muy caro — very expensive

  Compare costoso — costly

  Feminine: cara; plural: caros/caras

  💡 Similar in spelling to cara (face), but caro is an adjective; watch the stress.

• menosadv.

  less, a little less

  “Un poco menos, por favor.”— A little less, please.

  Pattern menos mal — just as well

  Compare un poco menos — a little less

  No conjugation; adverb

  💡 From Latin minus, related to English minus; it means a decrease.

• descuentom.

  discount

  “¿Me puede hacer un descuento?”— Can you give me a discount?

  Pattern hacer un descuento — to give a discount

  Compare rebaja — reduction

  Plural: descuentos

  💡 From the verb descontar (to deduct); des- means 'remove' and contar means 'to count'.

• señoritaf.

  miss

  “Diez pesos, señorita.”— Ten pesos, miss.

  Pattern buenos días, señorita — good morning, miss

  Compare joven — young person

  Masculine: señor; plural: señoritas

  💡 señor with the diminutive -ita; commonly used for young women in Latin American markets.