Convenience Store

1. Dükan gije-gündiz işleýärmi?

   Is this shop open around the clock?

   Usage

   Turkmenistan has no Japanese-style convenience-store chains; the corner "dükan" (Russian "magazin") fills the role. Central Ashgabat has shops that stay open late, but genuine 24-hour operation is rare and outside the capital most close at sundown

   Grammar Note

   "Gije-gündiz" is a paired compound of "night" and "day" meaning "round the clock". The question suffix alternates by vowel harmony between "-my" and "-mi"; after the front-vowel "işleýär" it is "-mi"

2. Paket gerekmi?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Bags are almost always charged in Turkmenistan and appear as a small extra on the bill. Decline with "Gerek däl, sag boluň". You will often be asked in Russian instead: "Paket nuzhen?"

   Grammar Note

   "Gerek" is a predicative word rather than a verb and stands alone as a sentence. Its negative is formed by adding "däl" after it — not with the verbal negative suffix "-ma"

3. Bir paket beräýiň

   One bag, please

   Usage

   Since bags are paid for, none appears unless you ask. Where sizes are priced differently, add "ulusy" (the big one) or "kiçisi" (the small one)

   Grammar Note

   "Ber-" (to give) plus the softening element "-äý" plus the polite second-person imperative "-iň" gives a gentle "would you just give me …". Plain "beriň" is correct but sounds more clipped

4. Iki çüýşe sowuk suw beriň

   Two bottles of chilled water, please

   Usage

   Drinks sit on a room-temperature shelf as well as in the fridge, and you get the warm one by default. Summers in Karakum-ringed Turkmenistan pass 45 degrees, so always add "sowuk" (cold). Still water is "gazsyz suw"

   Grammar Note

   Nouns stay singular after a numeral ("iki çüýşe"), and adjectives precede the noun, hence "sowuk suw". Turkmen distinguishes long and short vowels phonemically, though the orthography does not mark them

5. Täze bişen çörek barmy?

   Do you have freshly baked bread?

   Usage

   Çörek is the centre of the Turkmen table and shops take a fresh delivery each morning. Round flatbread baked in a "tamdyr" is called "petir" or simply "çörek". Bread is treated as sacred — never turned upside down or left on the floor

   Grammar Note

   "Bişen" is the past participle of "bişmek" (to bake, to be cooked), used attributively before the noun. "Bar" states existence, and "barmy" is the standard way to ask whether something is in stock

6. Şundan ýarym kilo çekip beriň

   Please weigh out half a kilo of this

   Usage

   Nuts, dried fruit and sweets are sold loose by weight in Turkmen corner shops. Prices are given per kilo and staff weigh out your portion. The shops simply carry over the bazaar's way of selling

   Grammar Note

   "Çekmek" basically means "to pull" and by extension "to weigh on scales". The converb "-ip" plus "bermek" (to do for someone) marks the action as done on your behalf, turning it into a request

7. Näçe çekeýin?

   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 roughly how much. If they scoop too much, "azajyk" (just a little) sorts it out

   Grammar Note

   The suffix "-aýyn / -eýin" is the first-person singular optative, "shall I …?". The stem "çek-" has a front vowel, so vowel harmony selects "-eýin"

8. Ol tekjedäki zady görkeziň

   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. Larger stores in Ashgabat are self-service and work differently

   Grammar Note

   "Tekje" (shelf) + locative "-de" + the adjectivising "-ki" gives "the one on the shelf". "Görkezmek" is "görmek" (to see) with a causative element, hence "to show"

9. Maýda puluňyz ýokmy?

   Do you have anything smaller?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Corner shops keep little change, so a large note draws this question first. A 100 manat note is usually too big for an everyday purchase, so hold on to your smaller notes deliberately

   Grammar Note

   "Pul" (money) takes the polite second-person possessive "-uňyz", giving "your money". Because "ýok" has a back vowel, harmony selects the back-vowel question suffix "-my"

10. Gaýtargy ýok, ýerine sakgyç alýarsyňyzmy?

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

    Usage

    Said by staff. Handing over gum or a sweet in place of small change is a habit found across Central Asia. You may refuse, but then the remainder is simply written off. If you want the money, say "Gaýtargyny beriň"

    Grammar Note

    "Gaýtargy" is a noun derived from the verb "gaýtarmak" (to give back). "Ýerine" is a frozen postposition made of "ýer" (place) plus possessive "-i" plus dative "-ne", meaning "in place of"

11. Mende diňe ýüz manatlyk bar

    I only have a 100-manat note

    Usage

    The reply when staff ask for smaller money. A small shop often cannot break a 100 manat note and the sale falls through — add items to absorb it, or break the note at a larger store. Turkmenistan is strongly cash-based and card acceptance is limited

    Grammar Note

    Turkmen has no verb "to have"; possession is expressed with the locative "-de" plus "bar". The suffix "-lyk / -lik" derives "a note worth X", as in "elli manatlyk" (a 50-manat note)

12. Nagt bilenmi ýa-da kart bilenmi?

    Cash or card?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Turkmenistan runs on cash; the domestic Altyn Asyr card is common but international cards are effectively unusable. Travellers should plan on cash. Answer with one word: "Nagt" or "Kart bilen"

    Grammar Note

    Turkmen marks means with the postposition "bilen" (with, by). In an alternative question the question suffix attaches to both options, so "bilenmi … bilenmi" appears twice

13. Terminal işleýärmi?

    Is the card terminal working?

    Usage

    Ask before you fill a basket and you save a trip back to the ATM. Even where a terminal exists in Turkmenistan the line is often unreliable, and outside the cities many shops have no terminal at all

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-ýär / -ýar" marks the present progressive, covering an action or state holding right now. In Turkmen this one form does the work of both the English simple present and present continuous

14. Terminal şu gün işlemeýär, diňe nagt

    The terminal is down today — cash only

    Usage

    Said by staff. Network failures and power cuts take the terminal offline fairly often. Follow up with "Golaýda bankomat barmy?" (is there an ATM nearby?) — but ATMs rarely handle foreign cards, so travellers should always carry manat in cash

    Grammar Note

    Negation is inserted as "-me / -ma" right after the verb stem, with the tense suffix following (işle + me + ýär). "Şu gün" literally means "this day", paired with "düýn" (yesterday) and "ertir" (tomorrow)

15. Şu ýerde telefona pul geçirip bolarmy?

    Can I top up my phone here?

    Usage

    Prepaid Altyn Asyr (TM Cell) SIMs can be topped up at the counter or at the payment kiosk inside the shop — just give the number and the amount. Since obtaining a SIM as a foreigner in Turkmenistan involves paperwork, topping up an existing number comes up often

    Grammar Note

    The converb "-ip" plus "bolmak" (to be possible) expresses ability or permission. "Geçirip bolarmy" is impersonal — "can it be done?" — leaving the agent unstated

16. Rusça gepleşsek bolarmy?

    Could we speak in Russian?

    Usage

    Russian-language education has shrunk in Turkmenistan, so Russian gets you less far than elsewhere in Central Asia. Older shopkeepers in Ashgabat will manage, but younger people in the regions may speak only Turkmen. Greet in Turkmen first, then ask

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-ça / -çe" forms language adverbs: "türkmençe" (in Turkmen), "iňlisçe" (in English). "Gepleşmek" adds the reciprocal "-ş" to "geplemek" (to speak), giving "to converse"

17. Diňe üç ýumurtga alsam bolarmy?

    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 loaf ("çöregiň ýarysy")

    Grammar Note

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

18. Munuň möhleti haçana çenli?

    What is the expiry date on this?

    Usage

    Slow-moving stock lingers on shelves, so check dairy items (gatyk, süýt) in particular. Labels often read Russian "Srok godnosti", with dates in day.month.year order — not the year-first order used in Japan

    Grammar Note

    "Munuň möhleti" combines a genitive with the possessive "-i", the izafet construction shared across Turkic. "Çenli" is the postposition "until", here governing the dative "haçana" to ask up to what date

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