Convenience Store

1. ਥੈਲਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ ਜੀ?

   Thaila chahida hai ji?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Single-use plastic bags are banned in Punjab, so a bag means a paid cloth or paper one. Most people bring their own

   Grammar Note

   "Chahida hai" is a passive-style construction meaning "is needed", with the person who needs it marked by the dative "nun". Adding "ji" at the end instantly makes any sentence polite.

2. ਇੱਕ ਥੈਲਾ ਦੇ ਦਿਓ

   Ikk thaila de dio

   Please give me one bag

   Usage

   Use it when staff do not offer one. Punjabi shops sell cloth bags for roughly 5-15 rupees. To decline, say "nahin, mere kol hai" (no, I have one)

   Grammar Note

   "De dio" stacks the verb "dena" (to give) with the same verb as an auxiliary, adding a sense of completing the act right now. The "-o" ending marks the polite imperative; bare "de" is for friends or juniors.

3. ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਪੈਸੇ ਹਨ?

   Khulle paise han?

   Do you have change?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Indian shops are chronically short of coins and small notes, so handing over a 500-rupee note always brings this question — some shops even give toffees instead of change. Keep a supply of 10, 20 and 50 rupee notes

   Grammar Note

   "Khullha" literally means "open", but applied to money it means "broken down into small denominations". The ending shifts to "-e" to agree with the masculine plural noun "paise".

4. ਆਨਲਾਈਨ ਕਰੋਗੇ ਜਾਂ ਨਕਦ?

   Online karoge jaan nakad?

   Will you pay online or in cash?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In India "online" is the everyday word for a UPI QR payment. Everything from tiny shops to street carts displays a printed QR code, and it is now more common than cash

   Grammar Note

   "Karoge" is the polite future of "karna" (to do). Punjabi forms the future by suffixing "-ga / -gi / -ge" to the stem, agreeing with gender and number.

5. ਯੂ ਪੀ ਆਈ ਚੱਲਦਾ ਹੈ?

   UPI challda hai?

   Does UPI work here?

   Usage

   Nearly every shop answers "han ji" (yes). Note that UPI requires an Indian bank account and local phone number, so most short-term visitors cannot use it and should carry cash

   Grammar Note

   "Challna" literally means "to walk / to run", but it is widely used of payments and banknotes in the sense of "is accepted". The same usage appears in "ih note challda hai?" (is this note valid?).

6. ਹੋਰ ਕੁਝ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ?

   Hor kujh chahida hai?

   Do you need anything else?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In a Punjabi kirana shop most goods sit behind the counter or on high shelves, and you ask for each item verbally — which is why staff check this before totalling up

   Grammar Note

   The standard reply is "bas, dhanvaad" (that's all, thank you). "Bas" alone means "enough / that's it" and is sufficient to signal that you are ready to pay.

7. ਬਿੱਲ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ?

   Bill chahida hai?

   Do you want the bill?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Small shops add things up mentally without a till, so often no receipt exists at all. If you need a formal tax invoice, ask for a "GST bill"

   Grammar Note

   "Bill" is masculine, so "chahida" takes the masculine singular form. With a feminine noun it becomes "chahidi", and with a plural "chahide".

8. ਇਹ ਦੇ ਦਿਓ

   Ih de dio

   I'll take this one

   Usage

   The simplest phrase, used while pointing. Since you cannot reach items behind the counter, adding "ih vala" (this one here) while pointing removes any ambiguity

   Grammar Note

   Add a numeral in front for quantity: "do de dio" (give me two). For weighed goods the useful units are "ikk kilo" (one kilo), "addha kilo" (half a kilo) and "sau gram" (100 grams).

9. ਪਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਬੋਤਲ ਦੇ ਦਿਓ

   Pani di botal de dio

   A bottle of water, please

   Usage

   Tap water is not drunk in Punjab, so bottled water is standard — about 20 rupees a litre. The MRP (maximum retail price) is printed on the bottle, so you can point at it if overcharged. Add "thandhi" to ask for a chilled one

   Grammar Note

   The genitive "da / di / de" agrees with the noun that follows it. "Botal" is feminine, hence "pani di botal". The system mirrors Hindi "ka / ki / ke".

10. ਦੁੱਧ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?

    Dudh kitthe hai?

    Where is the milk?

    Usage

    Punjab is dairy country: pouches of Verka (the state cooperative brand) arrive at shops early in the morning and often sell out by midday. Shelf-stable carton milk, called "tetra pack", is available all day

    Grammar Note

    "Kitthe + hai" is the basic way to ask where something is; just swap the noun — "bread", "dahin" (yoghurt), "ande" (eggs). Punjabi questions keep statement word order and simply insert the question word.

11. ਮੋਬਾਈਲ ਰੀਚਾਰਜ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ?

    Mobile recharge ho javega?

    Can you top up my mobile?

    Usage

    Many small Punjabi shops double as mobile top-up agents: you give your number and the amount, the owner processes it through his own app, and you pay cash. Prepaid Jio, Airtel and Vi numbers are handled almost everywhere

    Grammar Note

    "Ho javega" literally means "will it become / happen", and is the idiomatic soft way to ask whether something is possible — extremely common in everyday Indian speech. A refusal is "nahin hovega".

12. ਪਾਵਰ ਬੈਂਕ ਹੈ?

    Power bank hai?

    Do you have a power bank?

    Usage

    Grocery shops rarely stock them, but any mobile shop ("mobile di dukaan") will have one. For a charging cable say "charger di taar" or simply "cable"

    Grammar Note

    Just "noun + hai?" is enough to ask whether something is in stock; no other verb is needed. Punjabi drops any subject or verb recoverable from context, and doing so sounds natural rather than clipped.

13. ਫ਼ੋਨ ਚਾਰਜ ਕਰ ਲਵਾਂ?

    Phone charge kar lavaan?

    May I charge my phone?

    Usage

    Punjabi shopkeepers will usually let you use a socket and are happy to help. Power cuts ("bijli da katt") are frequent in summer, though, so it is not guaranteed. Buying something first is the polite way to ask

    Grammar Note

    The first-person subjunctive ending "-aan" expresses "shall I / may I". Using "laina" (to take) as an auxiliary adds the sense of doing the action for one's own benefit.

14. ਨੇੜੇ ਏ ਟੀ ਐੱਮ ਹੈ?

    Nere ATM hai?

    Is there an ATM nearby?

    Usage

    Shops never have an in-store ATM, but the owner will know where the nearest one is. In Punjab, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank machines cluster in town centres; in villages you may simply have to bring cash with you

    Grammar Note

    "Nere" is both an adverb and a postposition meaning "near", and combines with the genitive as in "dukaan de nere" (near the shop). Its opposite is "door" (far).

15. ਸਿਗਰਟ ਦਾ ਪੈਕਟ ਦੇ ਦਿਓ

    Sigrat da packet de dio

    A pack of cigarettes, please

    Usage

    Sikh precepts strongly reject smoking, and around holy sites — notably the Golden Temple area in Amritsar — selling or even carrying tobacco is prohibited. Ordinary grocery shops do not stock it; you buy it at a dedicated "paan di dukaan"

    Grammar Note

    Selling cigarettes singly is common in India; for just one say "ikk sigrat de dio". Note that "packet" is masculine, which is why the genitive appears as "da".

16. ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਮਿਲੇਗਾ?

    Khullha milega?

    Can I buy it loose / by weight?

    Usage

    Indian shops sell rice, pulses, spices and sugar loose by weight rather than pre-packed. Ask for just what you need — "sau gram" (100 grams) — and it costs less than the packaged version. Shampoo and detergent likewise come in single-use sachets

    Grammar Note

    "Milna" means "to be obtained / to meet", and in a shop it asks whether an item is available. Unlike English or Japanese, the grammatical subject is the item obtained, not the buyer.

17. ਦੁਕਾਨ ਕਿੰਨੇ ਵਜੇ ਬੰਦ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ?

    Dukaan kinne vaje band hundi hai?

    What time does the shop close?

    Usage

    Punjabi shops are almost never open 24 hours; most open around 8am and close by 9-10pm, and some shut for a few hours in the early afternoon. On religious holidays such as Guru Nanak's birthday they close en masse, so stock up beforehand

    Grammar Note

    "Hundi hai" is the habitual present, expressing what regularly happens. "Dukaan" is feminine, hence the feminine form "hundi". The opposite, "opens", is "khullhdi hai".

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