Convenience Store

1. Do'kon kecha-kunduz ishlaydimi?

   Is this shop open around the clock?

   Usage

   Uzbekistan has no Japanese-style convenience-store chains; the corner "do'kon" (Russian "magazin") fills the role. Along Tashkent's main avenues some shops advertise "24 soat", but in the old towns of Samarkand and Bukhara most close around 22:00

   Grammar Note

   "Kecha-kunduz" is a paired compound of "night" and "day" meaning "round the clock". The question suffix "-mi" attaches directly after the personal ending: "ishlaydi" + "-mi" is written as one word

2. Paket kerakmi?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Bags are charged in Uzbekistan, typically adding 1,000-2,000 som to the bill. Decline with "Kerak emas, rahmat". A Russian-speaking shopkeeper will ask "Paket nuzhen?"

   Grammar Note

   "Kerak" is a predicative word rather than a verb and stands alone as a sentence. Unlike Kazakh or Kyrgyz, Uzbek does not alternate the question particle by consonant — it is always "-mi"

3. Bitta paket bering

   One bag, please

   Usage

   Since bags are paid for, none appears unless you ask. Where sizes are priced differently, add "kattasi" (the big one) or "kichigi" (the small one). Adding "iltimos" at the end makes it more polite

   Grammar Note

   "Bitta" is the numeral "bir" plus the counting suffix "-ta", which Uzbek requires whenever you count objects (ikkita, uchta …). "Bering" is the polite second-person imperative of "ber-"

4. Ikkita sovuq suv bering

   Two chilled waters, please

   Usage

   Drinks sit on a room-temperature shelf as well as in the fridge, and the warm one is the default. Summer in Bukhara or Khiva passes 40 degrees, so always add "sovuq" (cold). Still water is "gazsiz suv"

   Grammar Note

   Nouns stay singular after a numeral — "ikkita suv", never "ikkita suvlar". Adjectives precede the noun, hence "sovuq suv"

5. Yangi yopilgan non bormi?

   Do you have freshly baked non?

   Usage

   Non is the centre of the Uzbek table and corner shops take a fresh tandir-baked delivery each morning. Shapes and stamped patterns differ by region — Samarkand non is famously hard and long-keeping. Bread is treated as sacred: never place it upside down or drop it on the floor

   Grammar Note

   Uzbek has a dedicated verb for baking bread, "non yopmoq", distinct from general "pishirmoq" — it originally describes slapping the dough onto the inner wall of the tandir. "Yopilgan" is its passive past participle

6. Bundan yarim kilo tortib bering

   Please weigh out half a kilo of this

   Usage

   Nuts, dried apricots, raisins and sweets are sold loose by weight in Uzbek corner shops. Prices are given per kilo and staff weigh out your portion. The shops simply carry over the way things are sold in the bazaar

   Grammar Note

   "Tortmoq" basically means "to pull" and by extension "to weigh on scales". The converb "-ib" plus "bermoq" (to do for someone) marks the action as done on your behalf, which turns it into a request

7. Qancha tortib beray?

   How much shall I weigh out?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Point at a loose-goods bin and this comes back. Answer with grams, or gesture and say "shuncha" (about this much). If they scoop too much, "ozroq" (a bit less) sorts it out

   Grammar Note

   The suffix "-ay / -ayin" is the first-person singular optative, "shall I …?". Here "beray" is the optative of "bermoq", and only the second half of the compound verb "tortib bermoq" inflects

8. Anavi javondagi narsani ko'rsating

   Could you show me the item on that shelf?

   Usage

   Soviet-style corner shops still sell over a counter, with the shelves out of reach — point and say this and staff will bring it. Supermarket chains in Tashkent such as Korzinka are self-service and work differently

   Grammar Note

   "Javon" (shelf) + locative "-da" + the adjectivising "-gi" gives "the one on the shelf". "Ko'rsatmoq" is "ko'rmoq" (to see) with the causative "-sat", hence "to show"

9. Maydangiz yo'qmi?

   Do you have anything smaller?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Corner shops keep little change, so a big note draws this question first. ATMs usually dispense 100,000 som notes, which a small purchase cannot break — hold on to your smaller notes deliberately

   Grammar Note

   "Mayda" (fine, small) takes the polite second-person possessive "-ngiz" and is used nominally for "your small money". The negative-question framing is a politeness device, like English "wouldn't you have …?"

10. Qaytim yo'q, o'rniga saqich olasizmi?

    I have no change — will you take a chewing gum instead?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Handing over gum or a sweet instead of the last few hundred som is a habit found across Central Asia. You may refuse, but then the remainder is simply written off. If you want the money, say "Qaytimni bering"

    Grammar Note

    "O'rniga" is a frozen postposition made of "o'rin" (place) + possessive "-i" + dative "-ga", meaning "in place of". "Qaytim" is a noun derived from the verb "qaytmoq" (to return)

11. Menda faqat ellik minglik bor

    I only have a 50,000-som note

    Usage

    The reply when staff ask for smaller money. A small shop often cannot break a 50,000 or 100,000 som note — add items to absorb it, or switch to a Humo or Uzcard payment. Uzbekistan was long cash-first, but cards and QR have spread fast in the cities

    Grammar Note

    Uzbek has no verb "to have"; possession is expressed with the locative "-da" plus "bor". The suffix "-lik" derives "a note worth X", as in "yuz minglik" (a 100,000 note)

12. Naqdmi yoki kartami?

    Cash or card?

    Usage

    Said by staff. In Tashkent and Samarkand the Click and Payme QR codes have reached even tiny shops and sit taped beside the till. A one-word answer works: "Naqd" or "Karta". Out in the regions many shops remain cash only

    Grammar Note

    In an alternative question Uzbek attaches "-mi" to both options, so it appears twice: "Naqdmi yoki kartami?". "Naqd" comes from Arabic and is shared with Persian and Tajik

13. Terminal ishlayaptimi?

    Is the card terminal working?

    Usage

    Ask before you start filling a basket and you save a trip back to the ATM. Outside the cities the line is unreliable and the terminal drops out — QR payment rides the same connection and fails with it

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-yapti" marks the present progressive, an action or state holding right now. Plain "ishlaydi" would state a general property, so use this form when asking whether it is working at this moment

14. Terminal bugun ishlamayapti, faqat naqd pul

    The terminal is down today — cash only

    Usage

    Said by staff. Power cuts and network failures take the terminal offline fairly often outside the cities. Follow up with "Yaqin atrofda bankomat bormi?" (is there an ATM nearby?). ATMs themselves run out of cash, so always carry a small reserve

    Grammar Note

    Negation is inserted as "-ma" right after the verb stem, with the tense suffix following it (ishla + ma + yapti). In Uzbek the negative always sits tight against the stem

15. Shu yerda telefonga pul solsa bo'ladimi?

    Can I top up my phone here?

    Usage

    Prepaid Ucell, Beeline and Uzmobile SIMs can be topped up at the counter or at the Paynet kiosk standing inside the shop — just give the number and the amount. When a tourist SIM runs out, the corner shop is the nearest fix

    Grammar Note

    The conditional "-sa" followed by "bo'ladimi" is the standard Uzbek way to ask "may one / can one …?", covering both permission and possibility. It leaves the agent unstated, giving an impersonal reading

16. Ruscha gaplashsak bo'ladimi?

    Could we speak in Russian?

    Usage

    Russian is widely understood in Uzbekistan and in Tashkent shops or with older shopkeepers it is often the easier language. In the Fergana Valley and among younger people in the regions Uzbek dominates. Greeting in Uzbek first and then asking this avoids any friction

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-cha" forms language adverbs: "o'zbekcha" (in Uzbek), "inglizcha" (in English). "Gaplashmoq" builds on the noun "gap" (talk) with the reciprocal "-lash", giving "to converse"

17. Uchta tuxum olsam bo'ladimi?

    Can I buy just three eggs?

    Usage

    Corner shops sell eggs, cigarettes and sweets one at a time, so there is no need to buy a tray of ten. Handy on short stays and in rented apartments. The same phrasing gets you half a non ("nonning yarmi")

    Grammar Note

    The conditional "-sam" plus "bo'ladimi" is the fixed first-person permission pattern. "Olmoq" means "to take", but in a shop it is the everyday word for buying

18. Buning yaroqlilik muddati qachon tugaydi?

    When does this expire?

    Usage

    Slow-moving stock lingers on shelves, so check dairy items (qatiq, suzma, sut) in particular. Labels read "Yaroqlilik muddati" or Russian "Srok godnosti", with dates in day.month.year order — not the year-first order used in Japan

    Grammar Note

    "Buning … muddati" combines a genitive with the possessive "-i", the izafet construction shared across Turkic. "Muddat" (period, term) is an Arabic loan also shared with Persian and Tajik

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