MockoCommerce vocabulary at B1 level is not just the names of shops. It includes the people who work in them, the people who buy from them, the transactions that take place, and the context of a changing retail landscape. TEF tasks on this theme range from a dialogue in a shop to a reading text about consumer habits or a speaking prompt about shopping preferences. This lesson teaches you the words for shops, commercial roles, and buying situations so you can handle any commerce-themed task fluently.
What you’ll learn
- Name common French shops and the people who run or work in them
- Use vocabulary for commercial transactions: buying, selling, paying, returning
- Discuss consumer behaviour and shopping preferences in a structured way
- Distinguish between shop types (artisan, grande surface, commerce de proximité)
Types of shops and retail spaces
French distinguishes carefully between different types of commercial spaces. Knowing this vocabulary helps you follow a text about retail or shopping immediately.
- la boulangerie: bakery (bread and pastries)
- la pâtisserie: cake shop, patisserie
- la boucherie: butcher's
- la charcuterie: delicatessen, cooked-meat shop
- la fromagerie: cheese shop
- la poissonnerie: fishmonger's
- l'épicerie (f): grocery store, corner shop
- la pharmacie: pharmacy
- la librairie: bookshop (not library, which is une bibliothèque)
- la papeterie: stationery shop
- la droguerie: hardware and household products shop
- la quincaillerie: ironmonger's, hardware store
- le supermarché: supermarket
- l'hypermarché (m): hypermarket (very large, outside town)
- la grande surface: large retail store, superstore
- le centre commercial: shopping centre
- le marché: market (outdoor or covered)
- le commerce de proximité: local, neighbourhood shop
Dans notre quartier, il reste encore plusieurs commerces de proximité: une boulangerie, une épicerie et une pharmacie. Les habitants les préfèrent à la grande surface.
In our neighbourhood, there are still several local shops: a bakery, a grocery store, and a pharmacy. Residents prefer them to the large superstore.
Librairie is not a library
- "Une librairie" is a bookshop where you buy books. "Une bibliothèque" is a library where you borrow them for free. This false friend appears in TEF multiple-choice questions precisely because it is a common confusion point.
The people in a shop
TEF dialogues involve both the people who work in shops and the people who buy from them. Here are the key roles.
- le commerçant / la commerçante: shopkeeper, trader
- le/la gérant(e): manager of a shop
- le vendeur / la vendeuse: sales assistant
- le/la caissier(ère): cashier
- l'artisan(e): craftsperson, artisan (making and selling their own products)
- le boucher / la bouchère: butcher
- le boulanger / la boulangère: baker
- le/la libraire: bookseller
- le/la pharmacien(ne): pharmacist
- le client / la cliente: customer
- le consommateur / la consommatrice: consumer (in a broader economic sense)
- l'acheteur / l'acheteuse: buyer
La gérante de l'épicerie a expliqué à ses clients que les prix augmentaient à cause des coûts de livraison.
The manager of the grocery store explained to her customers that prices were rising because of delivery costs.
Transactions: buying, paying, and returning
The vocabulary of commercial transactions covers everything from asking for a price to returning a faulty product.
- acheter: to buy
- vendre: to sell
- payer: to pay
- le prix: price
- le tarif: rate, price (for services)
- la promotion / les soldes: sale, promotion
- le rabais / la réduction: discount, reduction
- le ticket de caisse / le reçu: receipt
- rembourser: to refund
- échanger: to exchange (a product)
- rendre: to return (goods)
- réclamer: to complain, to request
- la garantie: warranty, guarantee
- défectueux(se): faulty
- commander: to order (goods)
- livrer: to deliver
- la livraison: delivery
J'ai acheté cet appareil il y a trois jours et il est déjà défectueux. Je voudrais être remboursé ou l'échanger contre un modèle en bon état.
I bought this appliance three days ago and it is already faulty. I would like a refund or to exchange it for one in good condition.
Shopping habits and consumer behaviour
TEF reading texts often discuss changing consumer habits: the rise of online shopping, the return to local shops, or ethical consumption. This vocabulary lets you follow those arguments.
- les habitudes de consommation: consumer habits
- faire ses courses: to do one's shopping (food and everyday items)
- faire du shopping: to go shopping (clothes and non-essentials)
- les achats en ligne: online shopping
- l'e-commerce (m): e-commerce
- la consommation responsable: ethical consumption
- le commerce équitable: fair trade
- les produits locaux / de proximité: locally produced goods
- le circuit court: short supply chain (direct from producer)
- le pouvoir d'achat: purchasing power
- le budget: budget
- comparer les prix: to compare prices
De plus en plus de consommateurs privilégient les produits locaux et le commerce équitable, même si cela implique un budget plus élevé.
More and more consumers favour local products and fair trade, even if that means a higher budget.
Useful phrases for commerce situations
These phrases work in TEF speaking tasks, whether you are role-playing a customer or describing a shopping situation.
- Vous avez ce modèle en taille...?: Do you have this model in size...?
- Ça coûte combien?: How much does it cost?
- C'est un peu cher. Vous faites des réductions?: It's a bit expensive. Do you do discounts?
- Est-ce que je peux l'essayer / le tester?: Can I try it on / test it?
- Je le prends. / Je vais réfléchir.: I'll take it. / I'll think about it.
- Je voudrais un remboursement.: I would like a refund.
- Avez-vous le ticket de caisse?: Do you have the receipt?
- C'est pour offrir.: It is a gift. (signals you would like gift wrapping)
Bonjour, vous avez ce pull en taille M? Oui. Ça coûte combien? Quarante-cinq euros. C'est un peu cher. Vous ne faites pas de réduction? Nous avons une promotion de vingt pour cent ce week-end.
Hello, do you have this jumper in size M? Yes. How much is it? Forty-five euros. That's a little expensive. No discount? We have a twenty percent promotion this weekend.
How to practise this
Practice ideas for commerce vocabulary
- Walk around a French-speaking area (or browse a French online map) and identify every type of shop you see using its French name. Aim to name ten different types without hesitating. If you cannot name one, look it up immediately.
- Write a short complaint dialogue (70 to 90 words) between a customer and a sales assistant. The customer bought a defective product and wants a refund. Use défectueux, ticket de caisse, rembourser, and garantie.
- Find a short French press article about changing consumer habits (search "évolution des habitudes de consommation France"). Identify three vocabulary items from the last section (habitudes de consommation, commerce équitable, circuit court, etc.) used in the article.
Key takeaways
- "Librairie" is a bookshop, not a library: "bibliothèque" is where you borrow books for free. This confusion is deliberately tested in TEF items.
- The commerçant/artisan distinction matters: an artisan makes what they sell (a baker, a cheesemonger); a commerçant resells goods made elsewhere.
- Transaction vocabulary (défectueux, remboursement, garantie, ticket de caisse) is essential for complaint dialogues in listening and speaking tasks.
- Commerce de proximité and grande surface represent opposite poles of French retail: local independent shops versus large out-of-town superstores.
- Consumer behaviour vocabulary (circuit court, commerce équitable, achats en ligne) signals contemporary reading texts about retail trends.
