Convenience Store

1. Ένα πακέτο τσιγάρα, παρακαλώ

   E-na pa-KE-to tsi-GA-ra pa-ra-ka-LO

   A pack of cigarettes, please

   Usage

   The staple purchase at a "periptero", the small street kiosk that sells cigarettes, water, magazines and tickets. Many in Athens and Thessaloniki stay open around the clock. Just add the brand name after "Ena paketo"

   Grammar Note

   Colloquially the noun after "paketo" stays in the accusative ("tsigara") instead of the formal genitive "tsigaron". "Periptero" comes from the classical word for a colonnaded building - the same root as the peripteral temple

2. Ένα μπουκάλι νερό κι έναν αναπτήρα, παρακαλώ

   E-na bu-KA-li ne-RO ki E-nan a-na-PTI-ra pa-ra-ka-LO

   A bottle of water and a lighter, please

   Usage

   At a kiosk you do not walk in - you name what you want through the window and the owner hands it out. Since you cannot browse the shelves, being able to say the item out loud makes a real difference

   Grammar Note

   "Anaptiras" is masculine, so the accusative article keeps its -n: "enan anaptira". The neuter "ena boukali" does not. "Kai" (and) contracts to "ki" before a vowel

3. Πουλάτε εισιτήρια για το λεωφορείο εδώ;

   pu-LA-te i-si-TI-ri-a gia to le-o-fo-RI-o e-DO

   Do you sell bus tickets here?

   Usage

   Greek kiosks traditionally sell city transport tickets and top-ups, which is a handy escape when station machines have queues. Not every kiosk handles the Athens ATH.ENA card, so it is worth asking first

   Grammar Note

   "Poulate" is second person plural - always use this formal (esis) form with a shopkeeper you do not know; the singular "poulas" is for friends. Note that the Greek question mark is written ";"

4. Μια ανανέωση καρτοκινητού δέκα ευρώ, παρακαλώ

   mia a-na-NE-o-si kar-to-ki-ni-TU DE-ka ev-RO pa-ra-ka-LO

   A ten-euro top-up for a prepaid phone, please

   Usage

   Prepaid Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova SIMs can be topped up at a kiosk: either you give your number and the owner loads it directly, or you get a slip with a code to enter yourself. It is the quickest fix when a tourist SIM runs out of data

   Grammar Note

   "Kartokinito" fuses "karta" (card) and "kinito" (mobile) to mean a prepaid phone; here it takes the genitive "kartokinitou" (of a prepaid phone). "Evro" is indeclinable and never changes in the plural

5. Δέχεστε κάρτα για τόσο μικρό ποσό;

   DE-che-ste KAR-ta gia TO-so mi-KRO po-SO

   Do you take a card for such a small amount?

   Usage

   Greek retailers are legally required to have a card terminal, yet kiosks and small shops often impose their own minimum spend. When you are buying just a bottle of water, asking first avoids an awkward moment at the window

   Grammar Note

   "Dehome" is a deponent verb - passive in form but active in meaning - and its second person plural is "deheste". "Toso + adjective" means "so / such a"

6. Με κάρτα μόνο από πέντε ευρώ και πάνω

   me KAR-ta MO-no a-PO PEN-de ev-RO ke PA-no

   Card payments only from five euros up

   Usage

   Said by staff. Card fees eat into tiny transactions, so kiosks and small shops set their own floor. If you hear this, either pay cash or add something to push the total over the limit

   Grammar Note

   "Apo X kai pano" is the fixed way to say "X and up"; its opposite is "apo X kai kato". The sentence has no verb - the same clipped form appears on handwritten signs at the till

7. Δεν έχω ψιλά, μήπως έχετε κάτι πιο μικρό;

   den E-cho psi-LA MI-pos E-che-te KA-ti pio mi-KRO

   I have no change - do you have anything smaller?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Kiosks keep little float, so handing over a fifty first thing in the morning or late at night almost always gets this reply. ATMs dispense twenties and fifties, so locals break them during a larger purchase

   Grammar Note

   "Psila" is the neuter plural of "psilos" (thin) used as a noun for coins. Adding "mipos" softens the question, which is why staff use it when asking a customer for a favour

8. Συγγνώμη, έχω μόνο πενηντάρικο

   si-GNO-mi E-cho MO-no pe-nin-DA-ri-ko

   Sorry, I only have a fifty

   Usage

   Declaring it up front often prompts the owner to run next door for change, or even to say "pay me later". It goes down far better than silently pushing a big note through the window

   Grammar Note

   Banknotes are named by adding -ariko to the numeral: penindariko (50), eikosariko (20), dekariko (10). Coins take -ari instead

9. Μια σακούλα, παρακαλώ. Πόσο κάνει;

   mia sa-KU-la pa-ra-ka-LO PO-so KA-ni

   A bag, please. How much is it?

   Usage

   Plastic bags have been charged for in Greece since 2018 and are never added automatically; the fee appears as its own line on the receipt. Reusable bags are the norm, so staff will always check whether you actually want one

   Grammar Note

   "Poso kani?" is the colloquial counterpart of "poso kostizei?" and the default at kiosks and markets. "Kano" normally means "do / make" but shifts to "comes to" in price contexts

10. Η σακούλα χρεώνεται, τη θέλετε;

    i sa-KU-la chre-O-ne-te ti THE-le-te

    The bag is charged for - do you want one?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Answer "Ohi, efharisto" (no thanks) or "Ne, parakalo" (yes please). Watch out: Greek "ne" means YES, which trips up English speakers constantly

    Grammar Note

    "Hreonete" is a third person singular passive. Because "sakoula" is feminine, the object pronoun echoing it is the feminine "ti", and Greek places such pronouns before the verb

11. Παίρνετε πίσω τα άδεια μπουκάλια;

    PER-ne-te PI-so ta A-di-a bu-KA-li-a

    Do you take back empty bottles?

    Usage

    Large glass beer bottles in Greece have long carried an informal deposit, and some shops refund it when you bring the empties back. For PET bottles and cans a national return scheme is still being rolled out, so practice varies wildly from shop to shop

    Grammar Note

    "Perno piso" is literally "take back". The adjective "adios" (empty) agrees with its noun, taking the neuter plural form "adia" to match "boukalia"

12. Αν φέρετε πίσω τα άδεια, σας επιστρέφουμε την εγγύηση

    an FE-re-te PI-so ta A-di-a sas e-pi-STRE-fu-me tin en-GI-i-si

    If you bring the empties back, we refund the deposit

    Usage

    Said by staff. The deposit, called "engyisi", is added to your bill as the price of the glass; keeping the receipt makes the refund easier. Travellers often leave without reclaiming it, so on a short trip cans or small PET bottles can be the simpler choice

    Grammar Note

    "An + present tense" states a real, likely condition. "Sas" is the indirect object "to you" and goes before the verb. "Engyisi" covers deposits and guarantees in general, including a rental deposit

13. Μέχρι τι ώρα πουλάτε μπίρα;

    ME-chri ti O-ra pu-LA-te BI-ra

    Until what time do you sell beer?

    Usage

    Greece has no nationwide curfew on alcohol sales, so a 24-hour kiosk will sell you a beer at 3am - a sharp contrast with Serbia and Croatia, where shops must stop at 22:00-23:00. Individual municipalities can still impose temporary limits during festivals

    Grammar Note

    "Mehri" means "until" for both time and place, and "ti ora" (what time) works adverbially with no preposition. The digraph "mp" is pronounced b at the start of a word and mb inside it

14. Δεν πουλάμε αλκοόλ σε ανηλίκους, έχετε ταυτότητα;

    den pu-LA-me al-ko-OL se a-ni-LI-kus E-che-te taf-TO-ti-ta

    We do not sell alcohol to minors - do you have ID?

    Usage

    Said by staff. The legal age in Greece is 18 and anyone looking young will be asked to prove it. Bring a passport or an EU ID card - a photocopy or a phone photo is often refused

    Grammar Note

    Negation is formed by placing "den" before the verb. "Anilikos" is "an-" (not) + "ilikia" (age). "Taftotita" literally means identity and doubles as the word for the ID document itself

15. Είστε ανοιχτά όλο το εικοσιτετράωρο;

    I-ste a-ni-CHTA O-lo to i-ko-si-te-TRA-o-ro

    Are you open around the clock?

    Usage

    Kiosks in central Athens or by a taxi rank often never close, while neighbourhood ones shut around 11pm. Most Greek shops close on Sundays, but kiosks and small mini-markets are exempt - which makes them the Sunday lifeline

    Grammar Note

    "Eikositetraoro" fuses "eikositessera" (24) and "ora" (hour) into a noun meaning a full day-and-night. Signs abbreviate it as "24ΩΡΕΣ" or "ΟΛΟ ΤΟ 24ΩΡΟ"

16. Κάτι άλλο; Όλα μαζί κάνουν επτά και είκοσι

    KA-ti A-lo O-la ma-ZI KA-nun e-PTA ke I-ko-si

    Anything else? That comes to seven twenty altogether

    Usage

    Said by staff. Prices are said as "seven and twenty", joining euros and cents with "kai" and dropping the words "evro" and "lepta". If you are done, answer "Ohi, afta" - literally "no, these" - meaning "that's all"

    Grammar Note

    When totalling up, "kano" agrees with a plural subject and becomes "kanoun"; for a single item it is "kani". Cents are "lepta", but the word is almost always left out in speech

17. Στο ράφι έγραφε άλλη τιμή

    sto RA-fi E-gra-fe A-li ti-MI

    The shelf showed a different price

    Usage

    Small shops do not always keep shelf labels up to date, so the till price can differ from the tag. The displayed price is meant to prevail in Greece, and a calm mention usually gets it corrected - the same sentence works if you only spot it on the receipt

    Grammar Note

    "Egrafe" is the imperfect of "grafo", describing an ongoing state - "it was saying". "Sto" contracts "se" + "to". Note that "timi" means both price and honour

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