Vocabulary

Level: A2
Accent: 1 accent
Time: 15 min

Learn Spanish: Comprar vs. Vender for Buying and Selling

By MicroSpanish editorial team Published 7 Nov 2026

The short answer

Comprar expresses the buyer's action of purchasing, focusing on the person who receives the item and gives money. Vender expresses the seller's action, focusing on the person or store that supplies the item and receives payment.

Key points

Identify who receives the goods and who receives the money.
Use comprar for the purchaser's action of buying, and vender for the seller's action of parting with goods for payment.
When naming the other person, context often clarifies the direction when using a with sellers or buyers.

Start the lesson

This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.

Stage 1 of 5

Understand

What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.

Examples

Mi familia compra alimentos frescos en el mercado central.

My family buys fresh food at the central market.

Why it works: Compra shows the family purchasing groceries as consumers.

2 more examples

Don Manuel vende verduras de su huerto a los vecinos.

Don Manuel sells vegetables from his garden to the neighbors.

Vende shows Don Manuel offering his produce in exchange for money.
¿A quién le vendes tu teléfono viejo?

To whom are you selling your old phone?

Vendes asks about the person who will receive the item in exchange for payment.

Read the full guide

8 short steps, one check each

Identify the direction of the transaction

Beginners often mix up whether the speaker is giving money to acquire an item or giving an item to receive money.

The problem: Beginners often mix up whether the speaker is giving money to acquire an item or giving an item to receive money.

Focus on who receives the product. Use comprar when you give money to acquire goods or pay for an item. Use vender when a person or store supplies the product and collects payment.

Compro pan fresco en la panadería cada mañana.

I buy fresh bread at the bakery every morning.

Why it works: Compro shows that the speaker is the customer acquiring the bread.
La panadería vende pan caliente desde las siete.

The bakery sells warm bread starting at seven.

Why it works: Vende shows that the business offers the bread to customers.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly describes a customer purchasing vegetables at a neighborhood market?

Show the answer

Answer: Compro verduras frescas en el mercado.

Compro expresses the customer's action of purchasing vegetables.

Use present-tense forms of regular -ar verb comprar

Learners need to match the buyer with the correct person ending of comprar.

The problem: Learners need to match the buyer with the correct person ending of comprar.

In this lesson's address system, comprar follows regular -ar verb endings in the present tense: compro for I, compras for you, compra for he or she, compramos for we, and compran for they. Name the item directly after the conjugated verb.

Nosotros compramos fruta en el supermercado local.

We buy fruit at the local supermarket.

Why it works: Compramos matches the subject nosotros for a group buying fruit.
¿Tú compras los billetes de tren por internet?

Do you buy the train tickets online?

Why it works: Compras matches the singular informal subject tú for purchasing tickets.

You can practise this again in Learn Spanish: Abrir vs. Abrirse for Opening Something and Something Opening and Learn Spanish: Pasar por vs. Pasar de for Stopping By and Passing On Things.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly asks a friend if they buy coffee at the café near the office?

Show the answer

Answer: ¿Compras café en la cafetería cerca de la oficina?

Compras matches the informal singular you and asks about purchasing coffee as a customer.

Use present-tense forms of regular -er verb vender

Learners sometimes apply -ar endings to vender or confuse the seller's role.

The problem: Learners sometimes apply -ar endings to vender or confuse the seller's role.

Vender is a regular -er verb: vendo, vendes, vende, vendemos, and venden. Use these forms to state what a store, merchant, or private individual offers for sale.

Esa tienda vende zapatos cómodos para caminar.

That shop sells comfortable shoes for walking.

Why it works: Vende matches the third-person singular shop that offers shoes.
Ellos venden ropa de invierno durante esta temporada.

They sell winter clothing during this season.

Why it works: Venden matches the plural subject ellos for offering winter clothing.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly states that a bookstore sells English dictionaries?

Show the answer

Answer: La librería vende diccionarios de inglés.

Vende describes the bookstore offering dictionaries for purchase.

Use the preposition a with buyers and sellers

English speakers expect from after buying and to after selling, but Spanish uses a with people in both directions.

The problem: English speakers expect from after buying and to after selling, but Spanish uses a with people in both directions.

In Spanish, the person involved in the transaction is commonly introduced with a. Depending on context, comprar a someone often means buying from that person, while vender a someone means selling to that person. Context, like mentioning a store or stall, helps clarify that you are buying from the seller rather than buying for them.

Le compro leche fresca al granjero del pueblo.

I buy fresh milk from the village farmer.

Why it works: Compro al granjero expresses buying from the farmer, combining a and el into al.
Ella vende su bicicleta vieja a una compañera de trabajo.

She sells her old bicycle to a coworker.

Why it works: Vende a expresses selling to the coworker who receives the bicycle.

Your turn

Which sentence clearly states that you buy fruit from your neighbor Marta at her market stand?

Show the answer

Answer: Compro fruta a mi vecina Marta en su puesto.

Compro fruta a mi vecina Marta en su puesto clearly shows you are buying from Marta at her stand.

Express prices and transaction terms

Learners are unsure how to connect the cost of an item with comprar and vender.

The problem: Learners are unsure how to connect the cost of an item with comprar and vender.

Use por to state the total amount paid or received in exchange for an item: comprar un libro por diez euros, or vender una mesa por cincuenta dólares. Stores also use a to quote unit rates: venden manzanas a dos euros el kilo.

Compré una mesa de madera por cuarenta euros.

I bought a wooden table for forty euros.

Why it works: Por cuarenta euros marks the total amount paid in exchange for the table.
El mercado vende naranjas dulces a tres euros el kilo.

The market sells sweet oranges at three euros a kilo.

Why it works: A tres euros el kilo gives the unit price offered by the seller.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly describes selling a used computer for two hundred euros?

Show the answer

Answer: Vendo mi ordenador usado por doscientos euros.

Vendo describes the seller's action, and por doscientos euros marks the exchange price.

Ask what shops sell versus stating what you want to buy

Travelers confuse asking what a merchant sells with asking if they can buy an item.

The problem: Travelers confuse asking what a merchant sells with asking if they can buy an item.

When you want to know a shop's inventory, ask what they sell: ¿Qué venden aquí? or ¿Venden mapas de la ciudad? When you state your own goal as a customer, use a conjugated verb followed by the infinitive comprar: Quiero comprar una botella de agua.

¿Ustedes venden tarjetas postales en este quiosco?

Do you sell postcards at this kiosk?

Why it works: Venden asks the kiosk staff about their inventory.
Necesito comprar un cuaderno nuevo para mi clase.

I need to buy a new notebook for my class.

Why it works: Comprar follows the conjugated verb necesito to express the customer's need.

Your turn

Which phrase correctly asks a clerk if the shop sells stamps?

Show the answer

Answer: ¿Ustedes venden sellos aquí?

Venden asks the store workers if they offer stamps for purchase.

Understand notices with se vende and se venden

Learners encounter passive se vende signs and mistake them for personal buying statements.

The problem: Learners encounter passive se vende signs and mistake them for personal buying statements.

Signs on buildings and products frequently use se vende for a singular item or se venden for plural items, meaning for sale. Do not confuse this passive seller notice with personal purchases.

Hay un cartel en la ventana que dice se vende casa.

There is a sign in the window that says house for sale.

Why it works: Se vende marks a singular property offered for purchase.
En esa esquina se venden periódicos y revistas.

On that corner, newspapers and magazines are sold.

Why it works: Se venden agrees with the plural nouns periódicos y revistas.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly describes a sign advertising that apartments are for sale?

Show the answer

Answer: En el edificio nuevo se venden apartamentos.

Se venden agrees with the plural noun apartamentos to indicate they are for sale.

Coordinate buyer and seller roles in conversation

In back-and-forth dialogue, learners easily lose track of who is buying and who is selling.

The problem: In back-and-forth dialogue, learners easily lose track of who is buying and who is selling.

In a single transaction, the customer buys while the vendor sells. Keep the perspective consistent: the shopkeeper sells the book, while the customer buys the book.

El dependiente vende el abrigo y el cliente lo compra.

The shop assistant sells the coat and the customer buys it.

Why it works: Vende identifies the seller's action while compra identifies the buyer's action.
Mi hermano vende su coche porque quiere comprar uno más grande.

My brother sells his car because he wants to buy a bigger one.

Why it works: Vende applies to the car he parts with, while comprar applies to the new one he will acquire.

Your turn

Which sentence correctly describes a baker selling bread that a neighbor buys?

Show the answer

Answer: El panadero vende el pan y la vecina lo compra.

The baker is the seller (vende) and the neighbor is the buyer (compra).

Before you go

Remember this

Identify who receives the goods and who receives the money. Use comprar for the purchaser's action of buying, and vender for the seller's action of parting with goods for payment. When naming the other person, context often clarifies the direction when using a with sellers or buyers.

Stage 2 of 5