Shopping in Japanese: Prices, Choices, and a Short Store Exchange

Ask a price, identify the intended product, request a closer look, and decline clearly. Practise pointing words, quantities, and checkout questions.

The products and prices here are fictional exercise data. This guide teaches language patterns rather than a particular store’s policies.

Point to the right item

これ usually points to something near the speaker, それ to something near the listener or already referred to, and あれ to something away from both. Physical distance is a useful first model; conversation can also establish what the words refer to.

見せる（みせる, show）becomes 見せて before ください. This asks the other person to perform an action. In これをください, you request the item itself. See the action-request lesson and the Japan Foundation’s item-request explanation.

Practise a price and a choice

Customer: このノートはいくらですか。— How much is this notebook?
Staff: 八百円です。— It is 800 yen.
Customer: じゃあ、これをください。— Then, this one, please.

八百 is read はっぴゃく. A price spoken aloud can be harder than the printed digits. Check the whole number rather than reacting to one familiar sound.

These are practice numbers. Do not infer a tax treatment or actual selling price from the exercise.

Ask about a detail

青いのはありますか。— Do you have a blue one?

もう少し大きいのはありますか。— Do you have a slightly larger one?

Here の stands in for the item already being discussed. You can also point to an example while asking. Learning a useful fixed phrase is reasonable, but check its meaning before swapping words into it.

If you decide against the purchase, a simple 今回はやめておきます (“I will leave it this time”) can make the decision clear. Do not say はい automatically while still trying to understand an important question about quantity or the item.

Practice

1. Ask the price of an item near you.

2. Read 800円 aloud.

3. Ask the staff to show you an item near them.

4. Choose an item with “This one, please.”

5. Ask whether a blue one is available.

Possible answers: 1. これはいくらですか。 2. はっぴゃくえん. 3. それを見せてください。 4. これをください。 5. 青いのはありますか。

For vocabulary, use the dictionary lookup workflow to check the actual word and reading. For a related exchange with a menu and quantities, use ordering food. The Japan Foundation’s Irodori Starter activities provide further everyday text and audio practice.

Keep the object clear when comparing products

これはいくらですか asks the price of a thing you point to. このかばんはいくらですか names that thing as a bag. The difference matters when several products are on the counter: この must stay with a noun, whereas これ can stand alone.

A purchase can involve two separate questions: what the product is like and what the checkout procedure allows. 冷たいですか asks about temperature. カードで払えますか asks about payment. Do not assume an affirmative answer to the second merely because another shop accepted a card.

The sample products and prices remain fictional. Use the companion checkout conversation to follow the response after the first request, then test これ／この with typed blanks. In real shopping, confirm the actual item, amount, and conditions with the seller.

Practise the next step

• Kore vs Kono Practice: Point to a Thing or Describe a Noun

• Convenience Store Japanese: Bags, Heating, and Payment Questions

• Japanese Taste Words: Sweet, Salty, Spicy, Sour, and Bitter

Open today’s learning and review schedule.