Convenience Store

1. Ego ole ka nke a dị?

   EH-goh OH-leh kah n-KEH ah dee

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Nigerian corner shops (ụlọ ahịa) and kiosks rarely display prices, so this is the line you will use most. Answers come back in naira.

   Grammar Note

   "Ego ole ka X dị?" is the standard price question. Ole (how many / how much) always follows its noun, and ka fronts the focused element — a very common device in Igbo questions.

2. Ị chọrọ akpa?

   ee CHOH-roh AHK-pah

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. In Nigeria a thin plastic bag is universally called a "nylon", and staff will often ask in English — "You want nylon?". Very small shops may not have bags at all.

   Grammar Note

   Igbo often distinguishes a question from a statement by intonation alone — raising the final pitch is enough here. The subject pronoun ị (you) sits before the verb, whereas the 1st person m follows it: Achọrọ m (I want).

3. Biko nye m akpa.

   BEE-koh nyeh m AHK-pah

   Please give me a bag

   Usage

   The customer's way of asking. Simply adding biko (please) softens the request considerably, which is worth knowing in the Igbo-speaking southeast (Aba, Onitsha, Enugu).

   Grammar Note

   The request frame is "nye m + noun": the imperative of nye (to give) plus the indirect object m (to me). Biko can be placed at the start or the end of the sentence.

4. Ị ga-akwụ ụgwọ na ego ka ọ bụ na transfer?

   ee gah-ah-KWOO OO-gwoh nah EH-goh kah oh BOO nah TRANS-fah

   Will you pay in cash or by bank transfer?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Instant bank-app transfers and POS terminals sit alongside cash as everyday payment methods in Nigeria, and even tiny shops will ask "Cash or transfer?" in English. The 2023 cash crunch pushed transfers further into the mainstream.

   Grammar Note

   Ga- is the future prefix, giving ị ga-akwụ (you will pay). Ịkwụ ụgwọ is a fixed verb-plus-noun idiom meaning "to pay". Ka ọ bụ links the two alternatives ("or").

5. Ị na-anabata transfer?

   ee nah-ah-nah-BAH-tah TRANS-fah

   Do you accept bank transfers?

   Usage

   The customer's version. If yes, the vendor will give you an account number and bank — often a fintech account such as Opay, Moniepoint or Palmpay. Always show the confirmation screen afterwards. Travellers without a Nigerian bank account cannot use this, so carry cash.

   Grammar Note

   The na- prefix marks habitual or ongoing aspect, giving the sense of "do you normally accept". The verb ịnabata (to accept) works equally with card or POS.

6. Enweghị m ego nta.

   eh-nweh-GHEE m EH-goh n-TAH

   I don't have small change

   Usage

   Said by staff, and equally usable by you. Small notes are chronically scarce in Nigeria: pay for a 100-naira item with a 1,000-naira note and you may be refused, or given sweets in lieu of change. Hoard your small notes.

   Grammar Note

   Negation is formed with the suffix -ghị on the verb stem: inwe (to have) → enweghị (do not have); the affirmative is Enwere m ego. The adjective nta (small) follows its noun.

7. Achọrọ m ịzụta kaadị recharge nke MTN.

   ah CHOH-roh m ee-ZOO-tah KAH-ah-dee ree-CHAJ n-KEH EM-tee-EN

   I want to buy an MTN recharge card

   Usage

   One of the commonest transactions at any Nigerian kiosk. Scratch cards for MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9mobile are sold by denomination — scratch off the silver strip and key in the PIN. Naming the amount is enough: "MTN, five hundred". For a data bundle just say "data".

   Grammar Note

   "Achọrọ m + infinitive (the ị- form)" expresses "I want to …". Nke is the associative particle "of". Igbo routinely borrows telecoms and IT vocabulary straight from English.

8. Biko nye m mmiri oyi.

   BEE-koh nyeh m M-mee-ree OH-yee

   Please give me cold water

   Usage

   Most shops keep bottles at room temperature, so say oyi (cold) if that is what you want. Power cuts are frequent and the fridge may not be running, so check before paying. Sachet "pure water" is the cheapest option, but visitors are safer with bottled water.

   Grammar Note

   Mmiri oyi joins "water" and "coldness" to mean cold water. Igbo has few true adjectives and often modifies by juxtaposing nouns — hot water is mmiri ọkụ (water + fire).

9. Ebee ka achịcha dị?

   eh-BEH-eh kah ah-CHEE-chah dee

   Where is the bread?

   Usage

   For shops you can browse. In a counter-service kiosk you simply name the item and the seller fetches it. Achịcha covers bread in general; the ubiquitous Nigerian loaf is the soft, sweet agege bread.

   Grammar Note

   "Ebee ka X dị?" asks where X is. The verb dị covers both "to be" and "to be located", which is why it also appears in price questions (Ego ole ka ọ dị?). Swap in any product name.

10. Ị nwere power bank?

    ee NWEH-reh POW-ah bank

    Do you have a power bank?

    Usage

    Power cuts ("NEPA has taken light") are a daily fact of life in Nigeria, so demand for power banks is high and even small shops stock cheap imported ones. Quality varies wildly — do not trust the printed capacity.

    Grammar Note

    The verb inwe (to have) changes shape with the subject: Ị nwere (you have) versus Enwere m (I have) — note that the 1st-person m follows the verb.

11. Enwere m ike ịchaja ekwentị m ebe a?

    eh-NWEH-reh m EE-keh ee-CHAH-jah eh-KWEN-tee m EH-beh ah

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Because outages are so frequent, shops running a generator often sell charging as a service — roughly 100-200 naira a session. Expect to queue when it is busy.

    Grammar Note

    "Enwere m ike + infinitive" literally means "I have the strength to" and serves as the ability/permission construction; ike is the noun "strength". Ekwentị is a native coinage from ekwe (to respond) and ntị (ear), though many speakers just say "phone".

12. Enwere m ike iji ụlọ mposi?

    eh-NWEH-reh m EE-keh ee-JEE OO-loh m-POH-see

    May I use the toilet?

    Usage

    Corner shops almost never have a customer toilet, so expect a no. Petrol stations, malls and restaurants are the realistic options. English works fine here too — "toilet" or "convenience".

    Grammar Note

    Ụlọ (house / building) is highly productive in compounds: ụlọ ahịa (shop, "market house"), ụlọ ọgwụ (hospital, "medicine house"), ụlọ akwụkwọ (school, "book house").

13. Enwere ATM nso ebe a?

    eh-NWEH-reh ay-tee-EM n-SOH EH-beh ah

    Is there an ATM near here?

    Usage

    Nigerian ATMs frequently run dry or lose power, so be ready to try several banks, and withdrawal limits are low. A very Nigerian alternative is the street-side POS agent, who will dispense cash from your card for a fee.

    Grammar Note

    Without a personal subject, enwere means "there exists"; add one and it becomes possession — Enwere m (I have). The presence or absence of m changes the meaning entirely.

14. Ị chọrọ resiti?

    ee CHOH-roh reh-SEE-tee

    Do you want a receipt?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Small shops have no till at all, so asking for a receipt usually gets you a hand-written slip. Supermarkets and chain stores print a proper one.

    Grammar Note

    Resiti adapts English "receipt" to Igbo phonology, inserting vowels to break up consonant clusters. A purist alternative is akwụkwọ ego (money paper), but resiti is what people actually say.

15. Nye m otu.

    nyeh m OH-too

    Give me one

    Usage

    Nigerian shops sell detergent, seasoning cubes, cigarettes and batteries by the single unit, so this is a genuinely useful line. Swap in abụọ (two) or atọ (three) for more.

    Grammar Note

    Igbo cardinals run otu (1), abụọ (2), atọ (3), anọ (4), ise (5). Numerals follow the noun: akwụkwọ abụọ (two books).

16. Mgbe ole ka ụlọ ahịa a na-emechi?

    m-GBEH OH-leh kah OO-loh ah-HEE-ah ah nah-eh-MEH-chee

    What time does this shop close?

    Usage

    Corner shops open early and close late, but many shut on Sunday mornings for church. In the Igbo southeast, Sunday worship structures the whole day — plan Sunday shopping for the afternoon.

    Grammar Note

    The demonstrative a (this) follows its noun, hence ụlọ ahịa a. Mgbe (time) plus ole (how much) gives "when". To ask about opening, swap emechi for emeghe (to open).

17. Ọ bụ naịra narị abụọ.

    oh BOO NYE-rah nah-REE ah-BOO-oh

    That will be two hundred naira

    Usage

    Said by staff. Prices come in Igbo or English, so get used to both: narị abụọ (200), narị ise (500), puku (1,000). When in doubt, ask to be shown on a calculator.

    Grammar Note

    Narị means "hundred" and takes a following numeral: narị abụọ (200), narị atọ (300); a thousand is puku and a million nde. The copula bụ links nouns ("is"), as opposed to dị, which describes states.

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