Convenience Store

1. Ydych chi eisiau bag?

   Uh-dikh khee ay-shy bag?

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Wales was the first part of the UK to charge for carrier bags, back in 2011, so a bag always costs extra. Decline with "Na, dim diolch"

   Grammar Note

   "Eisiau" behaves like a noun and, unlike other verbs, never takes the linking particle "yn". It appears as in "Dw i eisiau…" (I want…)

2. Rhywbeth arall?

   Hroo-beth ar-alth?

   Anything else?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In a village siop or a shop with a post office counter you often order across the counter, so this comes before they total up. Finish with "Na, dyna'r cyfan"

   Grammar Note

   "Arall" is a postposed adjective following the noun. Its plural form is "eraill", as in "pethau eraill" (other things)

3. Cerdyn neu arian parod?

   Ker-din nay ar-yan par-od?

   Card or cash?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Contactless works in nearly every Welsh shop, though in upland villages a shaky connection can leave the card machine dead — carry some cash as a fallback

   Grammar Note

   "Arian" means both silver and money; "parod" (ready) specifies physical cash. Irish forms its word for cash on the same logic, as "airgead tirim"

4. Ydych chi eisiau derbynneb?

   Uh-dikh khee ay-shy der-bun-eb?

   Do you want a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. A receipt is needed for returns or exchanges, so keep it for clothing or souvenirs; for food it is fine to decline

   Grammar Note

   "Derbynneb" is built from "derbyn" (to receive). Welsh consistently coins new terms from native roots rather than borrowing from English, and this word is one result

5. Oes cerdyn clwb gennych chi?

   Oys ker-din kloob gen-ikh khee?

   Do you have a loyalty card?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Co-op membership and the Tesco Clubcard are asked about at every checkout. Travellers can simply answer "Nac oes, mae'n ddrwg gen i"

   Grammar Note

   Welsh has no verb "to have"; possession is "something is with you". Answers repeat the verb rather than using yes/no: "Oes" for yes, "Nac oes" for no

6. Ga i frechdan o'r cownter, os gwelwch yn dda?

   Ga ee vrekh-dan or kown-ter, os gwel-ookh un thah?

   Could I have a sandwich from the counter, please?

   Usage

   British convenience stores do not reheat food; you either buy a pre-packed sandwich or have one made fresh. Some Spar and Premier branches will build one to order at the counter

   Grammar Note

   After "Ga i" the object undergoes soft mutation, turning "brechdan" into "frechdan". "Os gwelwch yn dda" literally means "if you see fit" and is the standard polite "please"

7. Ble mae'r toiled?

   Bleh myre toy-led?

   Where is the toilet?

   Usage

   Small Welsh shops rarely have one. Pubs and village halls are the usual fallback, and public toilets sometimes charge. Larger forecourt stores always have facilities

   Grammar Note

   Toilet doors are labelled "Dynion" (men) and "Merched" (women). Public signage in Wales is bilingual by law, so the English appears alongside

8. Faint o'r gloch ydych chi'n cau?

   Vaynt or glokh uh-dikh kheen kye?

   What time do you close?

   Usage

   Village shops in Wales often close at six and may open only until midday on Sundays. Town Co-op and Spar branches run to around 10pm, and 24-hour trading is largely confined to big supermarkets

   Grammar Note

   "O'r gloch" literally means "of the bell", with "cloch" soft-mutated after the article. It forms clock times, as in "dau o'r gloch" (two o'clock)

9. Oes dŵr oer gennych chi?

   Oys door oyr gen-ikh khee?

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   Small shops may have only a modest chiller or none at all. Welsh tap water is drinkable, so refilling a bottle where you are staying usually suffices

   Grammar Note

   The circumflex in "dŵr" — called "to bach", a little roof — marks a long vowel. Welsh treats "w" and "y" as vowels too, which is why words like "cwm" appear to have none

10. Ble mae'r batris?

    Bleh myre bat-rees?

    Where are the batteries?

    Usage

    Batteries, charging cables and umbrellas usually hang on a rack by the till rather than in the aisles. Swap in any product name to reuse the sentence

    Grammar Note

    "Mae" does not change for number, so no plural verb form is needed here. The plural of "batri" is "batris" — an English-style "-s" plural that Welsh accepts for some loanwords

11. Ga i dalu efo'r ffôn?

    Ga ee dal-ee ev-or fohn?

    Can I pay with my phone?

    Usage

    Phone contactless is standard across the UK and works in Wales even for small sums. Chinese-style QR payment is not used; person-to-person transfers go through bank apps on Faster Payments

    Grammar Note

    "Talu" softens to "dalu" after "Ga i". "Efo" is the north Welsh word for "with"; the south uses "gyda" instead — a well-known regional split

12. Ydych chi'n gwerthu stampiau?

    Uh-dikh kheen gwer-thee stam-pee-eye?

    Do you sell stamps?

    Usage

    In Welsh villages the shop very often houses the post office (Swyddfa'r Post), handling stamps, parcels and even cash withdrawals in one place — the closest local equivalent to a Japanese konbini

    Grammar Note

    The ending "-iau" is one of the commonest Welsh plural markers. Welsh forms plurals by adding endings, changing vowels or even dropping syllables, so each noun has to be learned individually

13. Ydy'r fargen pryd bwyd yn cynnwys diod?

    Uh-deer var-gen preed booid un kun-oois dee-od?

    Does the meal deal include a drink?

    Usage

    The meal deal is central to British convenience-store culture: a sandwich, a snack and a drink for one fixed price. Eligible items carry a special shelf label, and picking outside the range voids the discount

    Grammar Note

    "Bargen" is feminine, so it soft-mutates to "fargen" after the article. In Welsh a noun's gender shows up through mutation, which means you cannot write correctly without knowing it

14. Faint mae'r bag yn ei gostio?

    Vaynt myre bag un ay gos-tee-o?

    How much does the bag cost?

    Usage

    Wales has restricted single-use plastic bags, so what shops offer is a sturdy reusable bag priced at several tens of pence. Buying a new one each time adds up, so carry one with you

    Grammar Note

    "Costio" softens to "gostio" after "ei" (it). Welsh mutations are triggered by possessives, prepositions, articles and more, so you must reverse them mentally to look a word up

15. Dw i'n siarad Cymraeg, ond yn araf.

    Doo een shar-ad Kum-rye-g, ond un ar-av.

    I speak Welsh, but slowly.

    Usage

    In Welsh-speaking areas such as Gwynedd and Ceredigion, staff often greet you in Welsh with "Bore da". This line prompts them to slow down. An orange speech-bubble badge (Iaith Gwaith) marks staff happy to serve you in Welsh

    Grammar Note

    The Welsh present tense is analytic — "be" plus "yn" plus a verbal noun — much like the English progressive. Keep "Cymraeg" (the language), "Cymru" (the country) and "Cymry" (the people) apart

16. Dim bag, diolch. Mae gen i un.

    Dim bag, dee-olkh. My gen ee een.

    No bag, thanks. I have one.

    Usage

    How to decline when carrying a reusable bag. Wales charged for bags before anywhere else in the UK, and bringing your own is now entirely unremarkable

    Grammar Note

    Possession is expressed as "something is with me". The north says "mae gen i" and the south "mae gyda fi"; both are understood everywhere

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