Types of shops (dendak)

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

Food shops

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

The hidden clue: -degi

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

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

Once you discover the -degi pattern, you’ll be able to recognize other shops even if you haven’t seen them before.

Other useful places

Basque	English
kutxazain automatikoa	ATM
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 will go to the butcher’s shop.
• Fruta-dendara joaten naiz astero. — I go to the greengrocer’s every week.

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