Shopping (erostera)

This lesson teaches the phrases that come up again and again in the shop. With four or five formulas you can handle almost any situation.

The turn ritual

In small shops there are turns. The basic phrase when you walk in is:

• Azkena, mesedez? — Who’s last, please?

When your turn comes they’ll say to you:

• Zer nahi duzu? — What do you want?
• Esan! — Tell me!

Asking for what you want

Three frequent ways, from more casual to more polite:

Basque	English	Tone
Eman kilo bat sagar, mesedez.	Give me a kilo of apples, please.	direct, neutral
Jarriko al didazu kilo bat sagar?	Can you give me a kilo of apples?	polite (future + courtesy)
Hartuko dut kilo bat sagar.	I’ll take a kilo of apples.	confirming a choice

-Ko / -go is the future marker: jarri → jarriko, hartu → hartuko. It’s used a great deal to soften requests.

The shopkeeper’s questions

• Nolakoa nahi duzu? — How do you want it? (what quality / type)
• Zenbat nahi duzu? — How much do you want?
• Besterik? / Besterik nahi duzu? — Anything else?
• Pentsatu duzu? — Have you decided?

And to wrap up:

• Ez, besterik ez. Eskerrik asko. — No, nothing else. Thank you very much.

Closing the purchase

• Zenbat da dena? — How much is it all?
• Tori! — Here you go! (when handing over the money)
• Eskerrik asko! Agur! — Thank you! Goodbye!
• Zuri! Agur! — To you! Goodbye! (the shopkeeper’s reply)

Cultural note: Tori is a short little word used a great deal when passing something from hand to hand: money, a bag, a key. It’s very useful to learn early.