Coffee Break Spanish - How to shop for shoes in Spanish | A Coffee Break with Pablo

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

In this episode, Pablo takes you on a journey into the world of shoes. From chanclas and tacones to navigating shoe sizes, he’ll teach you what you need for shoe shopping in Spanish 🥿🥾You’ll also learn how to answer the question ¿Qué talla calzas? and more useful vocabulary.👉 Want more tips and insights like this? Subscribe to the Coffee Break Spanish newsletter and make Spanish part of your weekly routine! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, what are you guys? I'm Pablo of Coffee Break Spanish, and here I'm again with another little lection. We're busy working on our next podcast series for you, but in the meantime, I hope you might enjoy another mini lesson with me. For the time, today, we're going to talk to Zapathos. In my

Pueblo, in the province of Alicante, the industry of the zapato is importantissima. Actually, my grandfather even had a small shoe factory and I spent some summers helping there. For so, I can

say that the zapatos are something special for me, so I'm, so I Let's start a little of vocabulary sobre those zapatos. Let's start with what I find the tricky bit, shoe sizes. Since living in Scotland, I've noticed how confusing it can be.

What I mean is that in Spain and in most of mainland Europe, I am a size 42, 42, 42, but in the UK, suddenly I'm an age. So as you can see, the sizing system is very different. So to talk about shoe sizes in Spanish, we often use the verb calzar, which means to wear a certain shoe size. And it's only used with shoes and never with clothes. So in a tienda of

a shoe shop, you may hear what taya calzas what size do you

wear? And you could reply calzo el 42 calzo el

42 I wear a size 42. We tend to say L plus the

number because it makes reference to el numero, but we sometimes submit the word number and simply say El 42. You can also reply saying, calzo, la taya, 42. So I wear this size 42. There are also different ways of asking someone about their shoe size, so you could also say,

what talla usas? Or, or qual is your tally of a zapato. Or simply, what number uses? They all mean, more or less,

what shoe size do you use. Very well, let's move on now to Tipos De Zapatos. For that, I'm going to give you the Spanish name first, followed by a clue in English, to see if you can guess

the type of shoe in English. And then I'll do the response, sure. We're going with

something easy. Sandalias. So these are open shoes with straps usually worn in summer

for hot weather. That's sandalias. This was very easy, eh? Sniente type of

the zapato. Tacones. Tacones. So these are shoes that make their weather taller and they're also more formal kind of shoes. Do you know what they are? That's high heels. Tacones.

Venga, we're going to another that's very difficult, I mean, I mean, I mean, I guess. BOTAS. BOTAS. These are sturdy shoes that cover. the ankle or leg, and they are often used in winter. We're talking, of course, about boots. You're doing great.

Now, let's move on to the next one. Botas de agua. Botas de agua. These are, of course, ideal for the rain or muddy conditions. Effectively, rain boots or Wellington boots or well. Let's. Venga, subamos

a little the difficulty. Next up is chanclas. Chanclas.

These are flat shoes with a strap between the toes commonly worn at the beach or

pool. Very bien. Flip flops. Changlas. Next one is pantuflas.

Pantuflas. They are soft and warm shoes weren't normally indoors for comfort, and we also call them Zapatillas de Andar por casa. Sleepers. Phenomenal.

Venga, continueamos. Mocassines. Mokasines. These are low and slip on leather shoes without laces, and they often have stitching or a small decorative strap. This one was more difficult, I might say. And they are loafers, moccasines. Up next is nauticos.

Nauticos. These are casual lace-up shoes, originally, of course, designed for sailing, with a non-sleep soul. They are boat shoes. Also we also menoletinas, manoletinas. Manoletinas. They are like. lightweight flat shoes similar to ballet pumps.

They are ballet flats. The next is a classic. Zabadillas. Zabadillas. They are lightweight shoes with rubber sole, used for sport or casual wear. We're talking about trainers or sneakers. Only two more.

Zwecos. Zwecos. They are sleep on shoes with covered toes, and they are often worn for practical purposes because they are very comfy. Yes, some clogs. Well, well, I think that you have seen sufficient types of zapato,

but there are also many idiomatic expressions that have the word zapato. One very common one is Zapatero to Tos Tappato a tus chapatoes. Zappatero a tusappatoes. Basically, it literally

means shoemaker stick to your shoes. But it really means stick only to what you know best. Perfect. Well, well, once to

get to wrap what we've seen. Here's a little summary. So if you want to ask someone about their shoe size, You can say, K-taya calzas.

You could also say what taya usas or what is your taya of a

and even what number uses. To respond, you can say calzo el, for example

42, like you. Calzo the taya 42 or use

the taya And we've also learned many different types of shoes in Spanish. You now know sandals, sandalias, high heels, tacones, boots, botas, flip flops, chanclas, slippers, pantouflas, rain boots or wellies, botas de agua, boathes de agua, loaferes, Mocassines, boat shoes, nauticos, ballet flats, manoletinas, trainers or sneakers,

zapatillas, and clogs, Zwecos. Well, well, that's all for my part. I hope that you had have been liked this little lection about

about our little we're going very happy coffee break you have been

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