Types of shop (dendak)

When you go shopping in Euskal Herria, each product usually has its own specialised shop, especially in towns and neighbourhoods. Learning the names helps you get around and also to understand signs.

Food shops

Basque	English	What is sold
harategia	butcher’s	haragia (meat)
okindegia	bakery	ogia (bread)
arrandegia	fishmonger’s	arraina (fish)
fruta-denda	greengrocer’s	frutak, barazkiak
supermerkatua	supermarket	everything
hipermerkatua	hypermarket	large superstores
azoka / plaza	market / square	several stalls

The hidden clue: -degi

Many shop names end in -degi, an old suffix meaning “place where there is…”:

• ogi (bread) → okindegia (bakery)
• haragi (meat) → harategia (butcher’s)
• arrain (fish) → arrandegia (fishmonger’s)
• gozo (sweet) → gozotegia (cake shop)

Once you spot the -degi pattern, you’ll be able to recognise other shops even if you’ve never seen them before.

Other useful places

Basque	English
kutxazain automatikoa	cash machine
banketxea	bank
postetxea	post office
tabako-denda	tobacconist’s

Saying where you’re going

To go to a shop, use the NORA case with the suffix -ra (destination):

• Okindegira noa. — I’m going to the bakery.
• Harategira joango naiz. — I’ll go to the butcher’s.
• Fruta-dendara joaten naiz astero. — I go to the greengrocer’s every week.

Cultural note: many families still split their shopping: fish at the neighbourhood arrandegia, bread at the okindegia, and only the rest at the supermarket. It’s common to hear “okindegira noa” as a routine expression.