A transaction has a buyer and a seller.

The idea

Comprar describes obtaining something by paying; vender describes giving something in exchange for payment.

Patterns to compare
PapelAcción
compradorcomprar
vendedorvender

Examples

  • Compro pan en el mercado.I buy bread at the market.
  • La panadería vende pan.The bakery sells bread.
  • Compramos un billete.We buy a ticket.
  • La tienda vende flores.The shop sells flowers.
  • Compras una bicicleta usada.You buy a used bicycle.
  • Venden fruta en la plaza.They sell fruit in the square.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

The same object can be bought by one person and sold by another: do not swap comprar and vender.

Try it yourself

  1. The customer pays for the coat. La clienta paga por el abrigo: ella lo ___. (compra / vende)

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    compra

    compra: the customer pays for the coat.

  2. The shop offers the coat for money. La tienda ofrece el abrigo a cambio de dinero: lo ___. (compra / vende)

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    vende

    vende: the shop offers the coat for payment.

  3. We pay for the tickets. Pagamos por los billetes: los ___. (compramos / vendemos)

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    compramos

    compramos: we are the buyers of the tickets.

Use it today

Describe something you buy and a place that sells it.