Phrasebook
French market prices: per kilo, per item or per punnet?
Ask what a French market price covers, order half a kilo and check the total. Practise seller replies, food picture cards and three price questions.
- A1
- 14 phrases
- 3 situations
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In short
Ask C’est le prix au kilo ou à la pièce ? to check whether the price is per kilo or per item. Once the seller has weighed your food, ask Ça fait combien ? for the total.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Check the unit before ordering
A number on a sign needs a unit. These are alternative replies you can recognise.
Order a quantity of pears
Use de after the weight: cinq cents grammes de poires.
Check an unfamiliar number
| What the seller says | Meaning | Your purchase | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trois euros le kilo. | €3 for 1 kg | Exactly 500 g of pears | €1.50 |
| Deux euros pièce. | €2 for each melon | Two melons | €4 |
| Quatre euros la barquette. | €4 for each punnet | One punnet of strawberries | €4 |
Au kilo names the pricing method; le kilo follows a price. Both point to weight. À la pièce names the method for individual items; after an amount, you can hear just pièce: deux euros pièce. For the amount you are buying, un demi-kilo and cinq cents grammes mean the same quantity.
Point to what you want
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