Shopping & Money

Prices, trying things on, and the small talk that goes with a purchase. Numbers and prices lean on genitive — see Numbers & Time for the full rules on numbers and cases.

Asking the price

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Ско́лько э́то сто́ит?	"How-much this costs?"	"How much does this cost?"	сто́ит is 3rd person singular of сто́ить — used regardless of what "this" is.
Ско́лько сто́ят...?	"How-much cost...?"	"How much are...?" (plural items)	Plural verb сто́ят when asking about several things at once.
Ско́лько с меня́?	"How-much from me?"	"How much do I owe?"	с + genitive; common at a market stall.
Э́то до́рого	"This expensively"	"That's expensive"	до́рого used predicatively, no noun agreement needed.
Э́то дёшево	"This cheaply"	"That's cheap"	Same predicative pattern as до́рого.
У вас есть что-нибу́дь деше́вле?	"At you is anything cheaper?"	"Do you have anything cheaper?"	деше́вле is the comparative of дешёвый — irregular, doesn't add -ее.
Э́то сли́шком до́рого	"This too expensively"	"That's too expensive"	сли́шком intensifies до́рого.

Pattern

«Ско́лько + [verb] + [subject]?» is your price-asking skeleton: singular thing → сто́ит, plural things → сто́ят. Ско́лько сто́ит биле́т? vs. Ско́лько сто́ят биле́ты? — the verb agrees with what's being priced, not with "how much."

Paying

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Мо́жно (за)плати́ть ка́ртой?	"[Is it] possible to-pay by-card?"	"Can I pay by card?"	ка́ртой is instrumental — the means of payment.
Мо́жно нали́чными?	"[Is it] possible with-cash?"	"Can I pay cash?"	нали́чными is also instrumental — same pattern as ка́ртой.
У вас есть сда́ча?	"At you is change?"	"Do you have change?"	Standard у-есть construction — see genitive.
Э́то всё	"This [is] all"	"That's everything"	Said when you're done adding items, before paying.
Чек, пожа́луйста	"Receipt, please"	"Receipt, please"	чек covers both "receipt" and, in other contexts, "check/cheque."
Мо́жно без че́ка	"[It's] possible without receipt"	"I don't need a receipt"	без + genitive — same без pattern as без са́хара.
Здесь есть ски́дка?	"Here is [a] discount?"	"Is there a discount?"	ски́дка ("discount") is feminine.
Э́то со ски́дкой?	"This with discount?"	"Is this discounted?"	со ски́дкой is instrumental — the "with" pattern again.

Pattern

"Pay by/with X" always uses the bare instrumental — no preposition needed: плати́ть ка́ртой, плати́ть нали́чными. This is different from English "pay by card," which needs "by." Dropping the preposition and just using the instrumental ending is correct Russian, not a shortcut.

Browsing and trying things on

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Я про́сто смотрю́	"I simply am-looking"	"Just looking"	Standard, polite way to wave off a salesperson.
Мо́жно поме́рить?	"[Is it] possible to-try-on?"	"Can I try this on?"	поме́рить (perfective) — a one-time completed action of trying something.
Где приме́рочная?	"Where [is the] fitting-room?"	"Where's the fitting room?"	приме́рочная is a substantivized adjective (functions as a noun) — feminine by form.
У вас есть друго́й разме́р?	"At you is [a] different size?"	"Do you have another size?"	друго́й agrees with masculine разме́р.
Каки́е у вас есть разме́ры?	"What at you are sizes?"	"What sizes do you have?"	Plural version of the у-есть construction.
Мой разме́р — M	"My size — M"	"My size is M"	Sizes are often given as international letters even in Russian stores.
Э́то мне велико́	"This to-me [is] too-big"	"This is too big on me"	Dative мне + short-form adjective велико́ — see dative.
Э́то мне мало́	"This to-me [is] too-small"	"This is too small on me"	Same dative pattern, opposite meaning.
Э́то мне подхо́дит	"This to-me fits"	"This fits me"	подхо́дит governs dative мне — literally "approaches/suits to me."

Pattern

Fit-related judgments (too big, too small, fits, suits) route through the dative: Э́то мне велико́ / мало́ / подхо́дит / идёт. "To me" always comes first, mirroring мне ну́жно and мне нра́вится from other pages — the dative marks the person experiencing something, not the person doing something.

Deciding and closing the purchase

Russian	Literal	Means	Notes
Я э́то возьму́	"I this will-take"	"I'll take it"	возьму́ is perfective future of взять.
Я поду́маю	"I will-think"	"I'll think about it"	Polite way to decline without saying no — perfective future of поду́мать.
Мне ну́жно подожда́ть	"To-me [it is] necessary to-wait"	"I need to wait / think it over"	Same мне ну́жно + infinitive pattern as elsewhere.
Заверни́те, пожа́луйста	"Wrap, please"	"Could you wrap it, please"	Formal imperative of заверну́ть — for gift purchases.
Дайте, пожа́луйста, паке́т	"Give, please, [a] bag"	"Could I get a bag, please"	Formal imperative of дать; irregular verb worth knowing on sight.
Э́то в пода́рок	"This as [a] gift"	"It's a gift"	в пода́рок is a fixed accusative expression, doesn't change.

Pattern

Perfective future verbs like возьму́, поду́маю, заплачу́ describe a single decisive action you're about to complete — the natural aspect for "I'll do X" in the moment of deciding. See aspect once you get there; for now, just recognize that these "I will..." forms conjugate like present tense but mean future because the verb is perfective.