Convenience Store

1. An bhfuil mála uait?

   On will maw-la oo-it?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Ireland pioneered the plastic bag levy in 2002, so bags always cost extra. Decline with "Níl, go raibh maith agat"

   Grammar Note

   Irish has no verb "to want"; need is expressed with the prepositional pronoun "uait", a fusion of "ó" (from) and "tú" (you) — literally "a bag is from you"

2. An bhfuil aon rud eile uait?

   On will ayn rud el-eh oo-it?

   Is there anything else you need?

   Usage

   Said by staff, typically at the deli counter in a Centra or SuperValu when they check whether you want more. Close the order with "Sin é, go raibh maith agat"

   Grammar Note

   "Eile" (other) always follows the noun. Irish adjectives are postposed as a rule, giving the opposite word order to English

3. Rolla sicín, le do thoil.

   Roll-a shik-een, leh duh hull.

   A chicken roll, please.

   Usage

   The emblem of Irish convenience-store culture. The chicken fillet roll made at a Centra or Spar deli counter is close to a national dish, sold from morning to evening. Staff will ask about bread and fillings

   Grammar Note

   Noun-plus-noun order gives "roll of chicken", with the modifier following. "Le do thoil" literally means "with your will" and is the standard polite request formula

4. Cárta nó airgead tirim?

   Kar-ta noh ar-gid tir-im?

   Card or cash?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Contactless is deeply embedded in Ireland and a one-euro purchase goes through without comment; cash-only shops are now a rarity

   Grammar Note

   "Airgead" means both silver and money; adding "tirim" (dry) specifies physical cash. The word for silver came to serve as the general term for money

5. An bhfuil admháil uait?

   On will ad-vawl oo-it?

   Do you want a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. A receipt is required for returns or exchanges, so keep it for clothing or electronics. Emailed receipts are increasingly offered

   Grammar Note

   "Admháil" is a verbal noun from "admhaigh" (to acknowledge), so it literally means an acknowledgement of receipt. The "-áil" ending forms many nouns from verbs in Irish

6. An bhfuil cárta dílseachta agat?

   On will kar-ta deel-shakh-ta a-gut?

   Do you have a loyalty card?

   Usage

   Said by staff. SuperValu's Real Rewards, Dunnes' VALUEclub and similar schemes are asked about at every checkout. Travellers can just say "Níl, faraor" and pay the normal price

   Grammar Note

   Irish has no verb "to have"; possession is "something is at you". "Agat" fuses the preposition "ag" (at) with "tú" (you)

7. Cá bhfuil an meaisín aisíoca?

   Kaw will on ma-sheen ash-ee-uk-a?

   Where is the deposit return machine?

   Usage

   Ireland launched its deposit return scheme (Re-turn) in February 2024, adding a deposit to plastic bottles and cans. Feed logo-marked containers into a supermarket machine and it prints a voucher you can spend in store

   Grammar Note

   The genitive "aisíoca" (of refunding) follows and modifies "meaisín". Irish expresses "B of A" as noun plus genitive, in that order

8. Cén t-am a stopann sibh ag díol alcóil?

   Kayn tam a stup-un shiv egg dee-ul al-kohl?

   What time do you stop selling alcohol?

   Usage

   Off-licence alcohol sales in Ireland are legally time-limited: nothing before 10:30am or after 10pm, with a later start on Sundays. Outside those hours the drinks aisle is shuttered or covered

   Grammar Note

   The "t-" in "t-am" is a prefixed consonant that appears when a vowel-initial masculine noun follows the article "an". "Ag" plus a verbal noun expresses ongoing action, like English "-ing"

9. Cá bhfuil na cadhnraí?

   Kaw will na kine-ree?

   Where are the batteries?

   Usage

   Batteries, charging cables and umbrellas usually live on a rack near the till rather than in the aisles. Swap in any product name to reuse the sentence

   Grammar Note

   The article is "an" in the singular and "na" in the plural. The "bh" in "bhfuil" is eclipsis triggered by "cá" — the original letter stays in the spelling while the pronunciation changes, a hallmark of Irish

10. An féidir liom íoc leis an bhfón?

    On fay-dir lum eek lesh on wohn?

    Can I pay with my phone?

    Usage

    Phone contactless works in virtually every Irish shop, even for small amounts. Chinese-style QR payment is not used; for person-to-person transfers Revolut is near-universal

    Grammar Note

    Ability is expressed not with a verb but with the construction "is féidir le" (it is possible for). After "leis an" the noun is eclipsed, so "fón" becomes "bhfón"

11. An bhfuil leithreas anseo?

    On will le-hrus on-shuh?

    Is there a toilet here?

    Usage

    Small shops rarely have one. In Ireland the pub serves as the de facto public toilet — buy a drink and you are welcome. Large forecourt stores such as Applegreen always have facilities

    Grammar Note

    Public toilet doors are labelled "fir" (men) and "mná" (women). These two words are worth memorising, as they appear throughout the Gaeltacht

12. Cén t-am a dhúnann sibh?

    Kayn tam a ghoon-un shiv?

    What time do you close?

    Usage

    Urban Centra and Spar branches run from around 6am to 11pm, and some forecourt stores never close. In a Gaeltacht village, though, the shop may well shut at six

    Grammar Note

    The relative particle "a" lenites the initial "d" to "dh". Unlike English, Irish keeps a clear distinction between singular "tú" and plural "sibh"

13. An bhfuil uisce fuar agaibh?

    On will ish-keh foo-ar a-giv?

    Do you have cold water?

    Usage

    In small shops the chiller can be tucked at the back, leaving only room-temperature stock in view. Irish tap water is drinkable, so filling a bottle at your accommodation usually does the job

    Grammar Note

    The adjective "fuar" follows the noun "uisce". This same word gives English "whiskey", from "uisce beatha" (water of life) — one of Irish's rare exports into English

14. An bhfuil sé fós te?

    On will shay fohs teh?

    Is it still hot?

    Usage

    Irish convenience stores do not reheat food for you; they sell it hot from a heated display instead. Sausage rolls and chicken wings sitting there a while go cold, so it is worth checking

    Grammar Note

    "Fós" is an adverb meaning "still / yet". "An bhfuil sé fós te?" asks whether it is still hot

15. An bhfuil toitíní ar díol anseo?

    On will tit-een-ee er dee-ul on-shuh?

    Do you sell cigarettes here?

    Usage

    Display rules keep Irish tobacco hidden behind closed cabinets at the till, so a shop that looks like it sells none often does. Prices are among the highest in the EU

    Grammar Note

    "Toitín" is "toit" (smoke) plus the diminutive "-ín", literally a little smoke. That suffix is highly productive in Irish for diminutives and terms of affection

16. Níl mála uaim, tá ceann agam.

    Neel maw-la oo-im, taw kyown a-gum.

    I don't need a bag, I have one.

    Usage

    How to decline when carrying a reusable bag. The bag levy has made cloth bags entirely routine in Ireland, and this line moves the checkout along

    Grammar Note

    "Ceann" literally means head but also counts items, like English "one". Both "uaim" (I want) and "agam" (I have) are prepositional pronouns, paired here in one sentence

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