Convenience Store

1. Ẹ káàbọ̀!

   eh KAH-ah-BAW

   Welcome!

   Usage

   Said by staff. Greetings are foundational to Nigerian social life, and walking in to state your business without one reads as rude. Across Yorubaland — Lagos, Ibadan, Oyo State — shopkeepers commonly welcome you with "Ẹ káàbọ̀"

   Grammar Note

   "Ẹ" is grammatically plural but doubles as the respectful form for elders and customers. Age-based honorifics matter enormously in Yoruba, and getting them wrong causes offence

2. Kí ni ẹ fẹ́?

   kee nee eh FEH

   What would you like?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Nigerian kiosks and corner shops keep stock behind a window or counter where you cannot reach it, so this question always comes first

   Grammar Note

   Yoruba is tonal and the same letters mean different things at different pitches: "fẹ́" (high tone, to want) and "fẹ̀" (low tone, to be wide) are separate words, so dropping the marks breaks comprehension

3. Ṣé ilé ìtajà wà nítòsí?

   sheh ee-LEH ee-tah-JAH wah nee-TAW-see

   Is there a shop nearby?

   Usage

   Nigeria has few Japanese-style convenience stores; the neighbourhood kiosk or "shop" fills that role, selling "minerals" (soft drinks), bread, soap, sachet water and airtime. Lagos also has Shoprite and Spar. In speech people usually just say the English word "shop"

   Grammar Note

   Placing "Ṣé" at the front turns any statement into a yes-no question. "Ilé" (house) is highly productive: ilé ìwé (school), ilé ìwòsàn (hospital)

4. Mélòó ni èyí?

   MEH-law-oh nee eh-YEE

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Small shops rarely label prices, so you ask. The currency is the naira (NGN). Prices move fast in Nigeria, so the same item can cost noticeably different amounts from shop to shop and week to week

   Grammar Note

   "Ni" is the identifying copula that appears whenever a question word is fronted. "Mélòó ni …?" is the basic frame for asking a price

5. Mo fẹ́ èyí

   moh FEH eh-YEE

   I'd like this one

   Usage

   Say this while pointing. Shop talk in Yorubaland mixes freely with English, so adding "this one" in English if you are not understood is entirely normal

   Grammar Note

   Yoruba word order is subject-verb-object and verbs never inflect; tense and aspect are carried by particles and word order instead

6. Ẹ fún mi ní ọ̀kan

   eh foon mee nee AW-kahn

   Give me one, please

   Usage

   Nigerian shops sell in tiny units — a single sachet of detergent, a single sweet. Water is cheapest in sachets, sold warm or chilled at shops and by street vendors

   Grammar Note

   Starting an imperative with "Ẹ" makes it a respectful request. To a peer you would simply say "Fún mi ní ọ̀kan"

7. Ṣé ó tútù?

   sheh oh TOO-too

   Is it cold?

   Usage

   Power cuts are constant in Nigeria and shop fridges are frequently off, so a drink on the shelf may well be at room temperature. Asking first is the practical move — locals often just distinguish "cold" from "warm" in English

   Grammar Note

   Yoruba adjectival concepts function as verbs and need no copula: "ó tútù" is already a complete sentence meaning "it is cold"

8. Mo fẹ́ omi tútù

   moh FEH oh-mee TOO-too

   I'd like cold water

   Usage

   Tap water is not drinkable in Nigeria, so you buy bottled water or sachet "pure water". Sachets are extremely cheap — stick to recognisable brands

   Grammar Note

   Modifiers follow the noun: "omi tútù" is literally "water cold". Yoruba has no adjective agreement or case marking — word order alone carries the relation

9. Ṣé ẹ fẹ́ náílọ̀n?

   sheh eh FEH NAH-ee-lawn

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In Nigeria a plastic bag is called a "nylon", in English and Yoruba alike. Plastic restrictions are tightening in Lagos State, so some shops no longer have them

   Grammar Note

   English borrowings are fitted to Yoruba phonology with added vowels and assigned tones — "nylon" → "náílọ̀n" is a textbook example

10. Ẹ fún mi ní náílọ̀n

    eh foon mee nee NAH-ee-lawn

    A bag, please

    Usage

    How to ask for a bag. To decline, say "Rárá, ẹ ṣé" (no, thank you)

    Grammar Note

    "Fún … ní …" is the ditransitive frame "give someone something", with the recipient first and the item second

11. Mi ò ní owó wẹ́wẹ́

    mee aw nee oh-WAW WEH-weh

    I don't have small change

    Usage

    Said by staff. Small notes are chronically scarce in Nigeria — a large bill may get your purchase refused, or your change may arrive as sweets or chewing gum. Ask for small denominations when you change money

    Grammar Note

    Negation places "ò" before the verb. "Wẹ́wẹ́" is a reduplicated form meaning "small ones" — reduplication in Yoruba marks plurality and emphasis

12. Ẹ fún mi ní owó tó kù

    eh foon mee nee oh-WAW toh KOO

    My change, please

    Usage

    How to ask for your change. Nigerians normally just say the English word "change", and it slots straight into Yoruba conversation

    Grammar Note

    "Tó" introduces a relative clause, letting a phrase modify the noun that precedes it: "owó tó kù" (money that remains)

13. Ṣé ẹ gba káàdì?

    sheh eh gbah KAH-ah-dee

    Do you accept cards?

    Usage

    Debit cards are widespread in Nigeria but small shops often have no terminal. The everyday alternative is a bank-app "transfer" — the shopkeeper reads out an account number and you send the money on the spot

    Grammar Note

    "Gb" is a labial-velar plosive — g and b articulated simultaneously as a single consonant. It exists in neither English nor Japanese

14. Ṣé POS wà níbí?

    sheh pee-oh-ess wah nee-BEE

    Is there a POS agent here?

    Usage

    A distinctively Nigerian institution: a "POS" is a street-corner agent with a card terminal who dispenses cash for a small fee. They vastly outnumber ATMs and rarely run dry, making them the most practical source of cash for a visitor — look for a desk under a parasol

    Grammar Note

    "Wà" is the existential verb "to be located", combining with "níbí" (here) and "níbẹ̀" (there) to express location

15. Ṣé ẹ ní káàdì MTN?

    sheh eh nee KAH-ah-dee em-tee-en

    Do you have MTN recharge cards?

    Usage

    Nigerian mobile service is overwhelmingly prepaid, and corner shops and street vendors are the main top-up outlets. The carriers are MTN (the largest), Airtel, Glo and 9mobile — you scratch a card and dial the code, or have the vendor load it directly

    Grammar Note

    The word "ní" serves both as the verb "to have" and as an object marker; here it is the possessive verb

16. Ibo ni ilé ìgbọ̀nsẹ̀ wà?

    ee-boh nee ee-LEH ee-GBAWN-seh wah

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    Small shops essentially never have a customer toilet. In Nigeria you use a shopping mall, a filling station, a restaurant or a hotel lobby — and saying "toilet" in English is often quicker

    Grammar Note

    The question word fronts, takes the copula "ni", and the verb "wà" closes the sentence: "Ibo ni … wà?" is the fixed frame for asking where something is

17. Ẹ ṣé gan-an

    eh SHEH gahn-AHN

    Thank you very much

    Usage

    Say this as you leave. "Ẹ ṣé" is the respectful thank-you used with elders and shopkeepers; with a peer, "Ó ṣé" is enough

    Grammar Note

    "Ṣé" comes from the verb "ṣe" (to do), framing thanks as acknowledging what someone has done for you. In Yoruba, gratitude and deference are inseparable

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