Convenience Store

1. Vols bossa? Va a part.

   bols BO-sa? ba a PART

   Do you want a bag? It's charged separately.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Since 2021 Spain charges for every plastic bag, so even a small Catalan botiga will ask. Decline with "No, gràcies"

   Grammar Note

   In small Catalan shops staff normally address you with the familiar "tu", hence "vols". A more formal establishment uses "vostè" and says "Vol bossa?"

2. Alguna cosa més?

   al-GU-na KO-za MES

   Anything else?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In counter-service shops — bakeries, delis, butchers — you hear it before they total up. Say "Res més, gràcies" when you are done

   Grammar Note

   "Cosa" is feminine, so the determiner agrees as "alguna". The reply "res més" uses "res" (nothing), the Catalan counterpart of Spanish "nada"

3. Amb targeta o en efectiu?

   am tar-ZHE-ta u en e-fek-TIU

   By card or in cash?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Contactless is fully established in Catalonia and a one-euro purchase goes through fine, though small independent shops sometimes post a five-euro card minimum

   Grammar Note

   Note the split between "amb" (with) and "en" (in) for means: cash is idiomatically "en efectiu", not "amb efectiu"

4. Vol el tiquet?

   bol el ti-KET

   Would you like the receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. The tiquet is required for returns or exchanges, so keep it for clothing or electronics; for food it is fine to decline

   Grammar Note

   Catalan distinguishes the everyday till slip ("tiquet") from a formal tax invoice ("factura"). To claim an expense, ask "Em pot fer una factura?"

5. Tens targeta de client?

   tens tar-ZHE-ta de kli-EN

   Do you have a loyalty card?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Supermarkets such as Bonpreu, Condis and Caprabo ask every time. Travellers can simply answer "No en tinc" and pay the normal price

   Grammar Note

   The reply "No en tinc" contains the pronoun "en", which stands in for the previously mentioned noun — a hallmark of Catalan. Plain "No tinc" would sound incomplete

6. És per emportar o per prendre aquí?

   es per em-por-TA u per PEN-dre a-KI

   Is it to take away or to have here?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Almost any Catalan bar or bakery asks when you order coffee or pastries. Some places charge more for sitting down, so the answer affects the bill

   Grammar Note

   "Per" plus an infinitive expresses purpose. "Emportar" means to carry off (also used reflexively as "emportar-se"), and for consuming a drink "prendre" sounds more natural than "beure"

7. M'ho pots escalfar al microones?

   mu pots es-kal-FA al mi-kro-O-nes

   Could you heat it up in the microwave for me?

   Usage

   Catalan shops have no Japanese-style reheating service. Only some bars and bakeries that already serve hot food will oblige — typically warming a packaged sandwich. A polite refusal is entirely normal

   Grammar Note

   "M'ho" fuses the indirect pronoun "em" (to me) with the direct "ho" (it). Catalan stacks and contracts clitics before the verb, and this doubling trips up most learners

8. On puc comprar tabac?

   on puk kom-PRA ta-BAK

   Where can I buy cigarettes?

   Usage

   Tobacco retail is a state monopoly in Spain and is sold only at an "estanc", marked by a brown sign with a large T. Supermarkets and corner shops do not stock it, so ask this to be pointed to one

   Grammar Note

   "Puc" is the irregular first-person singular of "poder". An "estanc" also sells stamps and transport cards, which makes it handy for travellers beyond tobacco

9. Que teniu aigua freda?

   ke te-NIU AI-gwa FRE-da

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   In small shops the chiller often sits at the back and only room-temperature stock is on display. Cold water sells out fast in a Barcelona summer, so it is worth asking

   Grammar Note

   The sentence-initial "que" flags a yes/no question and is extremely common in spoken Catalan — Spanish has no equivalent. Addressing a shop as a collective, the second-person plural "teniu" is the natural choice

10. Fins a quina hora obriu?

    fins a KI-na O-ra u-BRIU

    Until what time are you open?

    Usage

    Independent Catalan shops typically shut for two or three hours at midday and close on Sundays. Late-opening shops are the exception, so checking hours matters; round-the-clock trading is far rarer than in Japan

    Grammar Note

    "Quin / quina" is the interrogative adjective "which", agreeing with the noun ("hora" is feminine, hence "quina"). To ask about the midday break, say "Tanqueu al migdia?"

11. Que em pots donar canvi?

    ke em pots du-NA KAM-bi

    Could you give me some change?

    Usage

    Fifty-euro notes are unpopular in small shops and may be refused or met with a request for something smaller. ATMs often dispense them, so break one at a larger store to make life easier

    Grammar Note

    "Canvi" covers both change owed and small coins obtained by breaking a note. For change due, say "El canvi, si us plau" — "si us plau" being the standard Catalan "please"

12. Que teniu servei?

    ke te-NIU ser-BEI

    Do you have a toilet?

    Usage

    Small shops almost never have one. In Catalonia the neighbourhood bar serves as the de facto public toilet — order a coffee and you are welcome. Using it without buying anything is frowned upon

    Grammar Note

    "Servei" literally means service; the plural "serveis" is equally common for toilets. "Lavabo" also works, though it originally means washbasin

13. On són les piles?

    on son les PI-les

    Where are the batteries?

    Usage

    Batteries, charging cables and umbrellas usually hang on a spinner rack by the till rather than sitting on the shelves. Swap in any product name to reuse the sentence

    Grammar Note

    The verb takes the plural form "són" to match the plural noun; for a single item use "On és el…?". Catalan definite articles come in four forms — el, la, els, les — agreeing in gender and number

14. Que ho puc pagar amb el mòbil?

    ke u puk pa-GA am el MO-bil

    Can I pay with my phone?

    Usage

    Phone contactless works widely in Catalonia, but Chinese-style QR payment is barely used. Person-to-person transfers go through Bizum, a shared bank system — which requires a Spanish bank account

    Grammar Note

    The neuter clitic "ho" refers back to a whole idea and never inflects. A mobile phone is "mòbil" in Catalan, while "telèfon" leans towards a landline

15. Que teniu bateries externes per al mòbil?

    ke te-NIU ba-te-RI-es eks-TER-nes per al MO-bil

    Do you have power banks for phones?

    Usage

    Small Catalan shops rarely stock power banks; look in souvenir shops in tourist areas, electronics stores, or rental stands in metro stations. If staff say "Aquí no en tenim" they mean they have none

    Grammar Note

    "Bateria" is feminine, so the adjective agrees as "externes" (feminine plural). "Per a" contracts with "el" into "per al". The English "power bank" is also widely understood

16. A quina hora deixeu de vendre alcohol?

    a KI-na O-ra de-SHEU de BEN-dre al-ku-OL

    Until what time do you sell alcohol?

    Usage

    A Barcelona city ordinance bans shop sales of alcohol at night, and late-opening supermarkets cover the drinks aisle with sheeting. Bars and restaurants are governed separately, so late drinking means drinking on the premises

    Grammar Note

    "Deixar de" plus an infinitive means to stop doing something; "deixar" on its own means to leave or to lend, so the preposition "de" changes the sense entirely

17. No cal bossa, en porto una.

    no kal BO-sa, en POR-tu U-na

    No bag needed, I've brought one.

    Usage

    How to decline when carrying a reusable bag. Bringing a cloth bag is thoroughly routine in Catalonia, and this one line speeds up the checkout

    Grammar Note

    "Caldre" (to be necessary) is impersonal and subjectless; the negative "no cal" is a handy way to say "no need". Once again the clitic "en" stands for "one of them" — one of the bags

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