How do you say 'street market' in Mexican Spanish?

You say tianguis — the sentence '¿A qué hora se pone el tianguis por aquí?' asks what time it sets up.

A molcajete is a stone mortar for grinding chiles and spices to make salsa.

What do you call a kid informally?

Escuincle is the informal word for a small child, as in 'Cuida al escuincle, se puede perder entre los puestos.'

It's early Sunday morning, you're walking through the market stalls with an empty bag and everyone's talking to you at once.

¿A qué hora se pone el tianguis por aquí?

What time does the market set up around here?

10 words10 sentences

tianguis/ˈtjanɡis/
street marketnoun
An open-air market with stalls of all kinds that's set up in the street and taken down at the end of the day.
elote/eˈlote/
corn on the cobnoun
A tender ear of corn, eaten boiled or grilled.
aguacate/aɡwaˈkate/
avocadonoun
A green fruit with thick skin and soft flesh, with a large pit inside.
jitomate/xitoˈmate/
tomatonoun
A round red fruit used in sauces and stews.
ejote/eˈxote/
green beannoun
The long green pod of the bean plant, eaten as a vegetable.
molcajete/molkaˈxete/
stone mortarnoun
A stone mortar where chiles and spices are ground to make salsa.
tlapalería/tlapaleˈɾia/
hardware storenoun
A store that sells paint, nails, tools and things for fixing up a house.
popote/poˈpote/
drinking strawnoun
A thin tube used for drinking a liquid.
escuincle/esˈkwinkle/
kidnoun
A small child, said informally.
cuate/ˈkwate/
buddynoun
A close friend, someone you get along well with.

Spell it1 of 3

¿A qué hora se pone el tianguis por aquí?
What time does the market set up around here?
¿Me das un elote con limón y chile?
Can I get an ear of corn with lime and chile?
¿Este aguacate ya está listo para la comida?
Is this avocado ready for today's meal?
¿A cómo está el kilo de jitomate hoy?
How much is a kilo of tomatoes today?
Dame medio kilo de ejote fresco, por favor.
Give me half a kilo of fresh green beans, please.
La salsa sabe mejor si la haces en molcajete.
The salsa tastes better if you make it in a stone mortar.
Pasando el tianguis hay una tlapalería muy barata.
Past the market there's a really cheap hardware store.
¿Me regalas un popote para la limonada?
Can I get a straw for the lemonade?
Cuida al escuincle, se puede perder entre los puestos.
Watch the kid, they could get lost among the stalls.
Aquí vende mi cuate, siempre me da buen precio.
My buddy sells here, he always gives me a good price.

tianguis/ˈtjanɡis/
«tian» is one syllable and that's where the stress falls: TIAN-guis; the u in «gui» is silent.
jitomate/xitoˈmate/
The j sounds rough, like in «caja», and the stress falls on «ma»: ji-to-MA-te.
escuincle/esˈkwinkle/
«cuin» is said together, in one beat: es-CUIN-cle.
cuate/ˈkwate/
Just two syllables: «cua» is said in one go, CUA-te.

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How do you say 'street market' in Mexican Spanish?: You say tianguis — the sentence '¿A qué hora se pone el tianguis por aquí?' asks what time it sets up.
What is a molcajete?: A molcajete is a stone mortar for grinding chiles and spices to make salsa.
What do you call a kid informally?: Escuincle is the informal word for a small child, as in 'Cuida al escuincle, se puede perder entre los puestos.'

10 wordsabout 6 min