This Piece of Meat Is Very Expensive in Spanish | Say It

“Este trozo de carne es muy caro” is a clear Spanish way to say that a piece of meat costs a lot.

If you want to say “This piece of meat is very expensive” in Spanish, the most direct version is Este trozo de carne es muy caro. It sounds natural, it gets the point across fast, and it works in shops, markets, restaurants, and casual chat.

Still, Spanish gives you more than one way to phrase it. The word you pick for “piece” can shift with context. A butcher may say one thing. A home cook may say another. A traveler pointing at a steak in a display case may want the easiest wording that won’t sound stiff.

That’s where this gets useful. You’re not just learning one sentence. You’re learning how Spanish speakers talk about meat, price, and portions so you can sound smooth instead of memorized.

Saying This Piece Of Meat Is Very Expensive In Spanish Naturally

The plainest translation is:

• Este trozo de carne es muy caro.

Word by word, that breaks down like this:

• Este = this
• trozo = piece
• de carne = of meat
• es = is
• muy caro = very expensive

That sentence is safe and usable in most everyday settings. If you’re standing in front of a counter and pointing to one cut, nobody will struggle to understand you.

Spanish also allows a small twist: Esta pieza de carne es muy cara. That sounds a bit more like “this cut of meat” or “this piece of meat” in a neat, descriptive way. Since pieza is feminine, esta and cara also switch to feminine form.

Which Version Sounds Better?

In daily speech, trozo de carne feels more conversational. Pieza de carne can sound a bit tidier or more product-like. In a butcher shop, either one can work. In a home setting, trozo often feels looser and more natural.

If you’re talking about a specific cut, Spanish speakers may skip “piece” altogether and say the cut name. That can sound more native than translating every English word one by one.

When “Piece” Changes In Spanish

English leans hard on the word “piece.” Spanish spreads that idea across a few nouns, and each one carries its own feel. That matters if you want your sentence to match the scene.

Common Nouns You Might Hear

Here are the main options:

• Trozo — a chunk or piece; broad and casual
• Pieza — a piece, unit, or cut; tidy and common in retail contexts
• Corte — cut; common when talking about meat types and butchery
• Pedazo — piece; can sound a bit more informal or emphatic

So while Este trozo de carne es muy caro is solid, a shopper might also say Este corte de carne es muy caro if the meat is being sold by cut rather than as a random piece.

The RAE entry for “carne” gives the base meaning of the word and helps keep your phrasing tied to standard Spanish usage.

How Native Speakers Often React To Price

In real conversation, people don’t always state price in a full textbook sentence. You’ll hear shorter reactions like these:

• Está muy cara. — It’s very expensive.
• Esa carne está carísima. — That meat is super expensive.
• Qué cara está esta carne. — This meat is so expensive.

Those sound more lived-in. They’re the kind of lines you’ll hear when someone checks a label and winces a little.

Spanish Phrase	Best Use	Natural English Sense
Este trozo de carne es muy caro.	General everyday speech	This piece of meat is very expensive.
Esta pieza de carne es muy cara.	Neat, product-like wording	This piece of meat is very expensive.
Este corte de carne es muy caro.	Butcher shop or menu talk	This cut of meat is very expensive.
Ese pedazo de carne está caro.	Informal speech	That piece of meat is expensive.
La carne está muy cara.	Talking about meat prices in general	Meat is very expensive.
Está carísima.	Strong reaction	It’s really expensive.
Ese filete está muy caro.	Named cut, like steak	That steak is very expensive.
Ese corte sale caro.	Price-focused comment	That cut ends up costing a lot.

How To Sound Less Like A Translation App

The fastest way to sound awkward in Spanish is to force English sentence habits onto it. The good news is that this phrase is easy to smooth out with a few small habits.

Use The Right Gender

This trips people up all the time. Trozo and corte are masculine, so you use este and caro. Pieza is feminine, so you use esta and cara.

• Este trozo es caro.
• Esta pieza es cara.

If you miss the gender match, the sentence still might be understood, but it won’t sound polished.

Drop Words When Context Is Clear

Spanish often trims what English likes to repeat. If everyone is already looking at the meat, you can say:

• Está muy caro.
• Está muy cara.

The item stays understood from context. That makes the line feel more natural in real speech.

Know When “Caro” Fits Better Than “Costoso”

Caro is the everyday winner here. Costoso exists, but it often feels more formal and less spoken. For food shopping, menus, and ordinary talk, stick with caro.

The RAE entry for “caro” backs up the standard sense of “costly” or “expensive,” which is the exact idea you need in this sentence.

Useful Variations For Shops, Markets, And Restaurants

Once you know the base line, you can bend it to fit the moment. That’s where your Spanish starts sounding lived-in instead of copied.

At The Butcher Counter

When pointing at one item in a display case, these work well:

• Este corte está muy caro.
• ¿Por qué está tan cara esta carne?
• Ese trozo sale caro.

If you want to ask with a softer tone, that second line works nicely. It sounds curious, not blunt.

At A Restaurant

Menus often call meat by the cut name, not by “piece.” So you might say:

• El filete está muy caro.
• Ese plato de carne sale caro.

That sounds more natural than forcing trozo de carne when the menu already tells you what cut it is.

When You Want Extra Emphasis

Spanish gives you stronger ways to react without getting wordy:

• Está carísimo.
• Está por las nubes.

Por las nubes is an idiomatic way to say the price is sky-high. The Instituto Cervantes phrase resources are useful when you want to hear how fixed expressions fit into standard Spanish usage.

Situation	Best Spanish Line	Tone
Pointing at one item	Este trozo de carne es muy caro.	Clear and direct
Retail or butcher context	Este corte de carne es muy caro.	Natural and specific
General complaint about prices	La carne está muy cara.	Broad statement
Strong reaction	Está carísima.	More emotional

Mistakes That Make The Phrase Sound Off

A few slips show up again and again. They’re easy to fix once you know what to listen for.

Using A Word-For-Word English Pattern

Not every English “piece” should become the same Spanish noun. If the meat is sold as a cut, corte may land better than trozo. If you just mean a chunk on a plate, trozo feels fine.

Forgetting Agreement

Esta trozo or este pieza sounds wrong because the article and adjective don’t match the noun. Gender agreement matters all the way through the phrase.

Overdoing The Sentence

Learners sometimes pile on too many words: Este pedazo de la carne es muy costoso. That feels clunky. Cleaner usually sounds better: Este trozo de carne es muy caro.

What To Say If You Want The Most Natural Pick

If you want one line you can trust in most settings, use Este trozo de carne es muy caro. It’s easy to remember and easy to understand.

If you’re speaking in a butcher shop or talking about a specific retail cut, Este corte de carne es muy caro may sound even better. If you just want to complain about meat prices in general, switch to La carne está muy cara.

That’s the real trick: match the noun to the scene. Do that, and your Spanish stops sounding translated and starts sounding like speech.