Convenience Store

1. هل البقالة مفتوحة طوال اليوم؟

   Hal al-baqāla maftūḥa ṭawāla al-yawm?

   Is this corner shop open around the clock?

   Usage

   A "baqala" is the small corner grocery found on almost every Gulf residential street, and many stay open around the clock. In Egypt the equivalent street kiosk is a "kushk", whose hours depend entirely on the owner. Use this when you need water or a drink late at night

   Grammar Note

   "Baqala" is a feminine noun, so the adjective takes the feminine form "maftuha". With the masculine noun "kushk" you would say "hal al-kushk maftuh?" using the masculine "maftuh"

2. عندكم ماء بارد؟

   ʿIndakum māʾ bārid?

   Do you have any cold water?

   Usage

   Small shops usually stock the same drinks both at room temperature and in the chiller, and grabbing one at random often gets you a warm bottle. With Gulf summers reaching close to 50C, adding the word "barid" (cold) makes all the difference

   Grammar Note

   Arabic has no verb "to have": possession is expressed with the preposition "'inda" plus a pronoun suffix — "'indi" (I have), "'indak" (you have), "'indakum" (you all have). Addressing a shop, the plural "'indakum" sounds most natural

3. أريد كيساً من فضلك

   Urīdu kīsan min faḍlak

   I'd like a bag, please

   Usage

   Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been charging for or restricting single-use bags, so even small shops may not hand one over automatically, or may charge for it. For a small purchase you will often just be handed the items, so ask if you need a bag

   Grammar Note

   Direct objects take the accusative case; an indefinite noun therefore ends in "-an" (tanwin fath), giving "kisan". "Min fadlak" addresses a man — to a woman say "min fadlik"

4. عندك فكة لهذه الورقة؟

   ʿIndak fakka li-hadhihi al-waraqa?

   Do you have change for this note?

   Usage

   ATMs dispense large notes (500 riyal in Saudi, 200 pounds in Egypt) and small shops frequently cannot break them. Asking before you pick out your items saves the awkwardness of putting everything back at the till

   Grammar Note

   "Fakka" comes from the verb "fakka" (to undo, to break up) and is far more natural in speech than the formal "nuqud saghira". "Waraqa" literally means paper or leaf, but in a money context it means a banknote

5. هل تقبلون بطاقة مدى؟

   Hal taqbalūna biṭāqat madā?

   Do you accept the mada debit card?

   Usage

   Each Gulf country has its own domestic debit network — mada in Saudi Arabia, KNET in Kuwait, NAPS in Qatar. Small shops often have terminals wired only to that domestic network and cannot read foreign-issued cards. Swap in the name used in the country you are visiting

   Grammar Note

   "Bitaqat mada" is an idafa (possessive) construction — "card of mada" — and the first noun never takes the definite article. A credit card is "bitaqat i'timan"

6. أريد شحن رصيد للجوال

   Urīdu shaḥn raṣīd lil-jawwāl

   I'd like to top up my mobile credit

   Usage

   Topping up prepaid SIMs is core business for these shops: the owner either loads the credit directly from a terminal or sells you a scratch card with a PIN. It is the fastest fix when a tourist SIM runs out of data. "Jawwal" is the Saudi word; in the UAE and Egypt people usually say "mobile"

   Grammar Note

   "Shahn" originally means loading cargo and now covers both charging a battery and topping up airtime. The preposition "li-" (for) fuses with the article "al-" to give the single word "lil-jawwal"

7. عندكم خبز طازج؟

   ʿIndakum khubz ṭāzij?

   Do you have fresh bread?

   Usage

   Corner shops take bread deliveries from a nearby bakery several times a day, so freshness depends on when you walk in. In Egypt flatbread is called "aish" — the same word as "life". In the Gulf you will hear "khubz arabi" or "samoun" for local loaves

   Grammar Note

   Arabic adjectives follow the noun and agree with it in gender, number, case and definiteness. "Khubz" is masculine and indefinite, so "tazij" stays in the masculine indefinite form. Swap in "aish tazij" and it works straight away in Egypt

8. نصف كيلو فقط من فضلك

   Niṣf kīlū faqaṭ min faḍlak

   Just half a kilo, please

   Usage

   Dates, olives, cheese and nuts are typically sold loose by weight in a baqala or kushk, and cost less than packaged versions. As a traveller you rarely need much, so state the amount — "rub' kilu" gets you 250 grams

   Grammar Note

   "Niṣf kilu" is another idafa — "half of a kilo". The fractions follow a fixed pattern: "rub'" (quarter) from the root for four, "thulth" (third) from the root for three, "nisf" (half)

9. هل توصلون الطلب إلى البيت؟

   Hal tuwaṣṣilūna aṭ-ṭalab ilā al-bayt?

   Do you deliver orders to the house?

   Usage

   Gulf baqalas run on delivery: send a message to the shop's phone or WhatsApp number and even a tiny order arrives within minutes. Invaluable when you would rather not step outside in the midday summer heat or leave your apartment

   Grammar Note

   "Tuwaṣṣilūna" is Form II of the root w-s-l (to arrive), and Form II adds a causative sense: to make arrive, i.e. to deliver. The article "al-" assimilates before sun letters, so "al-ṭalab" is pronounced "aṭ-ṭalab" and "al-ṣalāt" as "aṣ-ṣalāt"

10. متى تنتهي صلاحية هذا؟

    Matā tantahī ṣalāḥiyyat hādhā?

    When does this expire?

    Usage

    Stock can sit on the shelf for a while in a small shop, so it is worth checking dairy, yoghurt and bread. Packaging usually prints "tarikh al-intiha" (expiry date) next to "tarikh al-intaj" (production date) — you need to tell the two apart

    Grammar Note

    "Salahiyya" is an abstract noun from the root s-l-h (to be good, fit): for food it means shelf life, for documents validity. The same root gives "salih" (fit, good) and "islah" (reform)

11. هل تغلقون وقت الصلاة؟

    Hal tughliqūna waqt aṣ-ṣalāt?

    Do you close during prayer time?

    Usage

    Saudi Arabia long required shops to shut for each of the five daily prayers. The rule has been relaxed in recent years, but owner-run corner shops still pull the shutter down while the owner goes to pray, so it is worth knowing when planning your visit

    Grammar Note

    "Waqt aṣ-ṣalāt" is an idafa meaning "the time of prayer", used adverbially for "at prayer time". The five prayers are al-fajr (dawn), al-zuhr (noon), al-asr (afternoon), al-maghrib (sunset) and al-isha (night)

12. أي خدمة؟

    Ayy khidma?

    How can I help you?

    Usage

    Said by staff. This is the standard greeting the moment you walk in — literally "which service?". In Gulf corner shops the owner often follows you to the shelves to help. If you are not looking for anything specific, reply "atafarraj faqat" (just browsing)

    Grammar Note

    "Ayy" is an interrogative that takes an indefinite noun after it, again forming an idafa. A more deferential variant you will hear is "taht amrak" — literally "at your command"

13. شيء آخر؟

    Shayʾ ākhar?

    Anything else?

    Usage

    Said by staff. You will hear it after your items hit the counter and before the total is rung up. If that is everything, answer "bas, shukran" (that's all, thanks) — "bas" is the colloquial word for "enough / that's it" and works across the Arab world

    Grammar Note

    "Akhar" is the masculine form of "other"; feminine nouns take "ukhra", as in "marra ukhra" (once more). The initial "aa" is written with alif madda, marking a long a sound

14. ما عندي فكة، عندك مبلغ أصغر؟

    Mā ʿindī fakka, ʿindak mablagh aṣghar?

    I have no change — do you have a smaller amount?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Corner shops run permanently short of change, so a large note almost always prompts this. If neither of you has small money, you may be handed sweets or gum in lieu of coins. Hoarding small notes makes life much easier

    Grammar Note

    "Ma" is the colloquial negator for nominal sentences, equivalent to formal "laysa 'indi". "Asghar" is the af'al comparative pattern built from "saghir" (small); the same pattern gives "akbar" (bigger) and "arkhas" (cheaper)

15. الشبكة معطلة، كاش فقط

    Ash-shabaka muʿaṭtala, kāsh faqaṭ

    The network is down — cash only

    Usage

    Said by staff. Card terminals in small shops run over the mobile network, so a weak signal takes payments offline. Once you hear this, cash is the only option — always carry a little. "Al-shabaka" covers both the phone network and the card network

    Grammar Note

    "Al-shabaka" is feminine, so the predicate takes the feminine "mu'attala". "Kash" is an English loan that has fully settled into everyday speech and is heard far more often at the counter than the formal "naqdan"

16. نغلق نصف ساعة وقت الصلاة

    Nughliq niṣf sāʿa waqt aṣ-ṣalāt

    We close for half an hour at prayer time

    Usage

    Said by staff. If the prayer break falls mid-shop, some owners let you wait inside while others ask you to step out and come back. The adhan from the nearby mosque signals the start; a prayer-times app will tell you when the next one falls

    Grammar Note

    The prefix "nu-" marks the first-person plural "we". "A-" marks I, "ta-" you, "ya-" he — Arabic verbs encode the subject in the prefix, which is why subject pronouns are usually dropped

17. الكيس بريال

    Al-kīs bi-riyāl

    The bag costs one riyal

    Usage

    Said by staff. Gulf states have moved to charging for single-use bags, and even a corner shop will ask for anything from a few halalas up to a riyal. Carrying a tote saves both the cost and the exchange. Swap the currency for "dirham" in the UAE or "dinar" in Kuwait

    Grammar Note

    The preposition "bi-" means "for / at the price of" and is the standard way to state a price. It is the same "bi-" as in "bikam?" (for how much?), so question and answer mirror each other

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