Convenience Store

1. Дӯкон шабонарӯзӣ кор мекунад?

   Du-kon sha-bo-na-ru-zi kor me-ku-nad?

   Is this shop open around the clock?

   Usage

   Tajikistan has no Japanese-style convenience-store chains; the corner "dukon" (Russian "magazin") does the same job. Dushanbe's main avenues have some 24-hour shops, but along the Pamir Highway you will struggle to find anything open after dark

   Grammar Note

   "Shabonaruzi" is a Persian-style compound of "shab" (night), "ruz" (day) and the adjectival "-i". Tajik belongs to the Iranian branch, so its word formation differs sharply from its Turkic neighbours. Questions need no word-order change — only rising intonation

2. Халта лозим аст?

   Khal-ta lo-zim ast?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Most Tajik shops charge for bags, adding a somoni or two to the bill. Decline with "Ne, tashakkur". You are just as likely to be asked in Russian: "Paket nuzhen?"

   Grammar Note

   "Ast" is the copula, the equivalent of English "is", and Tajik requires it in adjectival predicates. This is a clear break from Turkic neighbours such as Kazakh and Uzbek: the predicate here takes two words, "lozim ast"

3. Як халта диҳед, лутфан

   Yak khal-ta di-hed, lut-fan

   One bag, please

   Usage

   Where bags are charged you have to ask for one. If sizes differ in price, add "kalon" (big) or "khurd" (small). "Lutfan" is a somewhat written-register "please" — dropping it in speech is not rude

   Grammar Note

   "Dihed" is the present stem "deh-" of "dodan" (to give) plus the second-person plural (polite) ending "-ed". Many Tajik verbs have a present stem quite unlike the infinitive, and "dodan → deh-" is a classic case

4. Ду шиша оби хунук диҳед

   Du shi-sha o-bi khu-nuk di-hed

   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 Dushanbe and Khujand approach 40 degrees, so always add "khunuk" (cold). Still water is "obi begaz"

   Grammar Note

   The "-i" in "obi khunuk" is the izafet linker, attached to the head noun to join it to what follows. In Persian-type syntax the adjective follows the noun — the opposite of Turkic order

5. Нони тару тоза доред?

   No-ni ta-ru to-za do-red?

   Do you have fresh non?

   Usage

   Non is the centre of the Tajik table and shops take a fresh tandoor-baked delivery every morning. Styles vary by region — thick round "noni obi" in Dushanbe, thin "fatir" around Khujand. Bread is treated as sacred: never turn it upside down or leave it on the floor

   Grammar Note

   "Taru toza" links "tar" (moist, fresh) and "toza" (clean, new) with the conjunction "-u" — an idiomatic pairing that sounds livelier than "toza" alone. "Dored" is the second-person plural present of "doshtan" (to have)

6. Аз ин ним кило баркашед

   Az in nim ki-lo bar-ka-shed

   Please weigh out half a kilo of this

   Usage

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

   Grammar Note

   "Barkashidan" (to weigh) is the prefix "bar-" (up) plus "kashidan" (to pull), from the motion of lifting a balance arm. Tajik uses the preposition "az" (from) rather than the case suffixes of its Turkic neighbours

7. Чанд баркашам?

   Chand bar-ka-sham?

   How much shall I weigh out?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Point at a loose-goods bin and this is the reply. Answer with grams, or gesture and say "hamin qadar" (about this much). If they scoop too much, "kamtar" (a bit less) fixes it

   Grammar Note

   "Barkasham" is the first-person singular subjunctive, formed without the prefix "me-" and with only the personal ending "-am". This mood expresses an offer or intention — "shall I …?"

8. Ҳамон чизи болои рафро диҳед

   Ha-mon chi-zi bo-lo-i raf-ro di-hed

   Could you pass me the item on that shelf?

   Usage

   Soviet-style corner shops still sell over a counter, with the shelves out of the customer's reach — point and say this and staff will fetch it. Supermarkets in Dushanbe are self-service and follow different rules

   Grammar Note

   "-Ro" marks a definite direct object and is one of the few case markers in Tajik. Stacking izafets, as in "chizi boloi raf" (the thing on top of the shelf), is the standard Persian-type way to build a noun phrase

9. Пули майда надоред?

   Pu-li may-da na-do-red?

   Do you have anything smaller?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Corner shops keep little change, so a large note draws this question first. ATMs tend to dispense 100 and 200 somoni notes, which everyday purchases cannot break — hold on to your small notes

   Grammar Note

   Negation is formed with the prefix "na-" at the front of the verb (dored → nadored). Where Turkic inserts the negative after the stem, Tajik places it before. Framing the question negatively adds politeness

10. Пули майда нест, ба ҷояш сақич мегиред?

    Pu-li may-da nest, ba jo-yash sa-qich me-gi-red?

    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 dropped. If you want the money, say "Puli boqimondaro dihed"

    Grammar Note

    "Nest" is the negated copula "ast", a single word meaning "there is not". "Ba joyash" is the preposition "ba" (to) plus "joy" (place) plus the third-person possessive "-ash": literally "in its place", hence "instead"

11. Ман танҳо пули сад сомонӣ дорам

    Man tan-ho pu-li sad so-mo-ni do-ram

    I only have a 100-somoni note

    Usage

    The reply when staff ask for smaller money. A small shop often cannot break a 100 somoni note and the sale falls through — add items to absorb it, or break the note at a larger shop. Tajikistan remains strongly cash-based, and cards are barely usable outside the cities

    Grammar Note

    Tajik does have a verb "to have", "doshtan", unlike its Turkic neighbours, which express possession as "at me there is". The currency name "somoni" honours Ismail Samani, founder of the Samanid dynasty

12. Нақд медиҳед ё бо корт?

    Naqd me-di-hed yo bo kort?

    Cash or card?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Tajikistan is the most cash-dependent of the Central Asian states, with card payment largely confined to bigger shops and hotels in Dushanbe. Assume cash at a corner shop. Answer with one word: "Naqd" or "Bo kort"

    Grammar Note

    "Bo" is the instrumental preposition, "with / by means of". Where Turkic marks this relation with a suffix ("-men", "-menen"), Tajik places a preposition before the noun

13. Терминал кор мекунад?

    Ter-mi-nal kor me-ku-nad?

    Is the card terminal working?

    Usage

    Ask before you fill a basket and you save a trip back to the ATM. Power cuts are routine in Tajikistan and some regions still ration electricity at night, so never assume the terminal will work — carry cash

    Grammar Note

    "Kor kardan" is a compound verb, "work" + "to do"; of a machine it means "to function". The prefix "me-" marks present or habitual aspect, giving the third-person singular "mekunad"

14. Имрӯз терминал кор намекунад, танҳо нақд

    Im-ruz ter-mi-nal kor na-me-ku-nad, tan-ho naqd

    The terminal is down today — cash only

    Usage

    Said by staff. Power cuts ("barq nest") and network failures take the terminal offline routinely in Tajikistan. Follow up with "Dar nazdiki bankomat hast?" (is there an ATM nearby?) — though the ATM may itself be out of cash

    Grammar Note

    The negative prefix "na-" precedes the tense prefix "me-": na + me + kunad = "namekunad". "Imruz" is a contraction of "in" (this) and "ruz" (day), paired with "diruz" (yesterday) and "fardo" (tomorrow)

15. Дар ин ҷо ба телефон пул андохта метавонам?

    Dar in jo ba te-le-fon pul an-dokh-ta me-ta-vo-nam?

    Can I top up my phone here?

    Usage

    Prepaid Tcell, Megafon and Babilon SIMs can be topped up at the counter or at the payment kiosk inside the shop — just give the number and the amount. When a tourist SIM runs out, the corner shop is the nearest fix

    Grammar Note

    Ability is expressed as past participle plus "tavonistan" (to be able): "andokhta metavonam" = "I can put in". This is the basic Tajik potential construction, with the main verb preceding the auxiliary

16. Бо русӣ гап занем, мумкин?

    Bo ru-si gap za-nem, mum-kin?

    Could we speak in Russian?

    Usage

    Russian holds constitutional status in Tajikistan as the language of interethnic communication and is widely understood in Dushanbe shops and by older shopkeepers. In the regions and among younger people Tajik dominates and Russian may not get you far. Greet in Tajik first, then ask

    Grammar Note

    "Gap zadan" is a compound of "gap" (speech) and "zadan" (to strike), meaning "to talk". Tajik is full of such noun-plus-verb compounds — "kor kardan" (to work), "khob raftan" (to sleep). "Mumkin", from Arabic, can request permission on its own

17. Танҳо се тухм харида метавонам?

    Tan-ho se tukhm kha-ri-da me-ta-vo-nam?

    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 guesthouses. The same phrasing gets you half a non ("nimai non")

    Grammar Note

    "Tukhm" shares its root with Persian "toxm" and covers both "seed" and "egg". After a numeral the noun stays singular — the plural "-ho" is not added

18. Мӯҳлати истифодаи ин кай тамом мешавад?

    Muh-la-ti is-ti-fo-da-i in kay ta-mom me-sha-vad?

    When does this expire?

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Muhlati istifodai in" stacks two izafets to mean "the term of use of this". Both "muhlat" (term) and "istifoda" (use) are Arabic loans — Tajik draws heavily on Arabic for abstract vocabulary

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