¿Cuánto Cuesta? Asking the Price
¿Cuánto cuesta? connects one item with its price. Point or name what interests you, then listen for the number rather than every word in the reply.
Learning objective
Ask the price of one item and listen for a number in the answer.
Hold one item or point clearly and ask ¿Cuánto cuesta?, meaning How much does it cost? A question word is a word that asks for information rather than a yes-or-no answer. Cuánto is a question word meaning how much, and cuesta means costs for one thing. The written accent marks cuánto as a question form.
Name the item when pointing could be unclear: ¿Cuánto cuesta el libro? means How much does the book cost? El libro is the book. You can also place the noun first as a topic: El libro, ¿cuánto cuesta? This is natural when both people can see the object and you want to confirm which price you mean.
A price answer may begin Cuesta..., meaning It costs.... Cuesta veinte euros means It costs twenty euros. Currency names and number formats depend on the country. Listen for the number and local currency rather than assuming euros, dollars, or one way of writing a decimal in every Spanish-speaking place.
If the answer arrives too quickly, protect the important detail. Ask ¿Puede repetir el precio, por favor?, meaning Can you repeat the price, please? Precio means price. Then repeat the number you heard while your voice rises: ¿Veinte?, Twenty? That rise turns the number into a confirmation question.
Price labels may show a symbol before or after the number, and the same currency symbol can represent different currencies. Confirm when the amount matters. Your useful sequence is identify, ask, listen, confirm: El sombrero, ¿cuánto cuesta? Cuesta treinta. ¿Treinta? Sí. That small loop prevents a confident guess from becoming a purchase mistake.
Examples
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
Use this when one visible item is clear.
¿Cuánto cuesta el libro?
How much does the book cost?
Naming el libro removes doubt about the item.
Cuesta veinte euros.
It costs twenty euros.
The answer joins a number to the currency used here.
¿Puede repetir el precio, por favor?
Can you repeat the price, please?
This requests the key information again.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- ¿Cuántos cuesta el libro?
- Try
- ¿Cuánto cuesta el libro?
The fixed question for the amount one item costs uses cuánto, meaning how much. Cuántos asks how many masculine things and expects a count, so it does not fit this price question.
Practice
Try it yourself
Imagine a market stall with one hat and no visible label. Ask its price by naming el sombrero. The seller answers treinta dólares too fast, so request the price again and confirm the number thirty.