Shelves in a Grocery Store

[Bobbert]

In a conversation, I used the word estantería to refer to shelves in a grocery store. Later in the conversation, the person I was speaking with used the word estante. We were speaking about new employees not restocking the shelves with grocery items in a timely manner.

So what word is usually used to refer to shelves in a grocery store in Mexico?

[aleCcowaN]

This goes beyond Mexican Spanish. I would be surprised to learn about a Spanish speaking country were estante weren't a single shelf and estantería weren't a shelving unit or a rack with many shelves.

Eso sí, gente que usa mal las palabras hay en todos lados. Y entre los emigrantes hay toneladas de gente que habla por aproximación como consecuencia del bilingüismo forzado y la perdida de práctica en la lengua materna.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Well, the DRAE presents "estante" and "estantería" as synonymous, and that's how I've heard it used all the time, so can use them interchangeably. You can also use "anaquel" for the shelves in the grocery store.


However, in daily speech, I think most people prefer to say "estante" for the piece of furniture with several shelves, and "estantería" for a group of such pieces of furniture.


So, in the grocery store, the person you were talking to might have been thinking about one set of shelves as an "estante" and the many "estantes" in the aisles, as the "estantería".

[Bobbert]

Thank you, aleCcowaN and AngelicaDeAlquezar.