Convenience Store

1. خالتا كېرەكمۇ؟

   Xal-ta ké-rek-mu?

   Do you need a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Uyghur towns have no convenience-store chains; you shop at a small family-run "dukan" or at the bazaar. Plastic bags are chargeable across China, so expect to pay a few jiao

   Grammar Note

   Uyghur forms a yes/no question by suffixing "-mu" to the word in question. Unlike most Uyghur suffixes it does not vary with vowel harmony. To decline, say "yaq, rehmet" (no, thank you).

2. بىر خالتا بېرىڭ

   Bir xal-ta bé-ring

   One bag, please

   Usage

   Use it when staff do not offer one. At the bazaar goods are often wrapped in newspaper or a paper bag, and large items such as nan bread are traditionally carried home in a cloth

   Grammar Note

   The ending "-ng" marks the polite imperative; with friends you would use the bare "ber". Uyghur numerals precede the noun, and the noun stays singular after a numeral.

3. تېلېفوندا تۆلەمسىز؟

   Té-lé-fon-da tö-lem-siz?

   Will you pay by phone?

   Usage

   Said by staff. WeChat Pay and Alipay QR payments dominate in Uyghur shops too, with a plate showing both codes standing by the till. Offer cash and you may be told there is no change

   Grammar Note

   The locative suffix "-da / -de" alternates according to vowel harmony with the stem. Uyghur is agglutinative, stringing suffixes together to express grammatical relations exactly as Turkish and Kazakh do.

4. نەق پۇل بولامدۇ؟

   Neq pul bo-lam-du?

   Is cash all right?

   Usage

   Electronic payment is so entrenched in China that handing over cash can leave staff at a loss. Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept foreign-issued cards, but keep small notes in case that fails

   Grammar Note

   "Bolmaq" is a catch-all verb meaning to become, to be possible, to be acceptable, and "bolamdu?" is the set phrase for asking whether something will do. The agreeing reply is "bolidu" (that is fine).

5. چەك كېرەكمۇ؟

   Chek ké-rek-mu?

   Do you need a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Small shops total things up mentally without a till, so no receipt may exist. In China the formal tax receipt is called a "fapiao", and asking by that name is the surest way to get one for expenses

   Grammar Note

   "Kérek" works both nominally and predicatively, pairing with a dative person as in "manga kérek" (I need it). To say you do not need it, use "kérek emes".

6. ھەممىسى ئون ئىككى يۈەن

   Hem-mi-si on ik-ki yü-en

   That comes to twelve yuan

   Usage

   Said by staff. The currency in Xinjiang is the yuan, called "yüen" in Uyghur, though in speech people often borrow the Chinese "kuai". If the number escapes you, ask to see the till display

   Grammar Note

   Uyghur counts bir, ikki, üch, töt, besh, alte, yette, sekkiz, toqquz, on. Numbers above ten are formed as "on + digit", so twelve is "on ikki" — virtually identical to Turkish "on iki", a clear illustration of how close the Turkic languages remain.

7. بۇنى بېرىڭ

   Bu-ni bé-ring

   This one, please

   Usage

   The simplest phrase, used while pointing. In Uyghur shops the stock often sits on shelves behind the counter out of reach, so pointing is how you order

   Grammar Note

   The accusative "-ni" marks a definite object and is obligatory with a clearly identified item such as "bu" (this), while an indefinite one takes no marker. For quantity, say "ikkini béring" (give me two).

8. بۇ ھالالمۇ؟

   Bu ha-lal-mu?

   Is this halal?

   Usage

   Uyghurs are Muslim and avoid pork and alcohol. Almost everything in a Uyghur-run shop is halal, but Han-run shops stock pork products too. A pack marked "qingzhen" in Chinese, or "halal" in Uyghur, carries halal certification

   Grammar Note

   "Halal" is an Arabic loanword and its opposite is "haram" (forbidden). Uyghur carries a large stratum of Arabic and Persian borrowings arriving with Islam, and they dominate the religious and scholarly vocabulary.

9. سۇ قەيەردە؟

   Su qe-yer-de?

   Where is the water?

   Usage

   Tap water is not drunk in Xinjiang, so bottled water is standard. This is arid country ringing the Taklamakan desert, with summer temperatures above 40C, so stock up before any journey

   Grammar Note

   "Qeyer" means "where", and the locative "-de" gives "where at". Swap in any product and the frame holds: "nan" (bread), "süt" (milk).

10. ئىسسىق سۇ بارمۇ؟

    Is-siq su bar-mu?

    Do you have hot water?

    Usage

    Useful when buying instant noodles. The habit of drinking hot water runs throughout China, so every shop and eatery keeps a thermos or dispenser. Uyghur teahouses serve a spiced tea instead

    Grammar Note

    Uyghur adjectives precede the noun, giving "issiq su" — the reverse of Thai or Tibetan order. The existential "bar" (there is) is negated by the separate word "yoq" (there is not).

11. قوشۇق بېرىڭ

    Qo-shuq bé-ring

    A spoon, please

    Usage

    Ask for one when buying instant noodles or prepared food. Uyghurs traditionally eat polo (pilaf) with the hand, but noodle dishes call for chopsticks — "choka" in Uyghur, from Chinese "kuaizi"

    Grammar Note

    To soften a request, open with "maqul bolsa" (if you would be so kind). Politeness in Uyghur is carried mainly by verb endings and forms of address; there is no separate honorific verb set.

12. بۇ يەردە تېلېفونغا زارياتكا قىلسام بولامدۇ؟

    Bu yer-de té-lé-fon-gha zar-yat-ka qil-sam bo-lam-du?

    May I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Small Uyghur shops and teahouses will often let you use a socket if you ask, though it rests on the owner goodwill, so buy something first. Xinjiang winters drop to minus 20C in places, and the cold drains batteries fast

    Grammar Note

    The frame "verb + -sam / -sem + bolamdu?" asks for permission, literally "if I do X, will that do?". The conditional ending carries the person, so no separate subject is needed. Russian loanwords such as "zaryatka" entered the technical vocabulary through twentieth-century contact.

13. يېقىن ئەتراپتا بانكومات بارمۇ؟

    Yé-qin et-rap-ta ban-ko-mat bar-mu?

    Is there an ATM nearby?

    Usage

    In central Urumqi and Kashgar you can find Bank of China and Agricultural Bank machines, but they are scarce in rural areas. Few accept foreign cards, and with electronic payment dominant more shops handle no cash at all

    Grammar Note

    Bankomat is borrowed from Russian and is shared across the Turkic languages, while "etrap" (surroundings) comes from Arabic. Uyghur vocabulary is a Turkic frame overlaid with Arabic, Persian, Russian and Chinese strata.

14. ھاجەتخانا قەيەردە؟

    Ha-jet-xa-na qe-yer-de?

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    Uyghur shops have no customer toilet and staff will point you to a public one. Paper is often absent, so carry tissues. The Chinese word "cesuo" is also understood

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-xana" comes from Persian and forms names of places: hajetxana (toilet), kutupxana (library), ashxana (canteen). It is the same element as Persian "khane" (house).

15. سۈت قەيەردە؟

    Süt qe-yer-de?

    Where is the milk?

    Usage

    Uyghur shops mostly stock shelf-stable carton milk. The essential dairy product is yoghurt, "qétiq", which at the bazaar is ladled out by weight from large bowls

    Grammar Note

    Süt is cognate with Turkish "süt" and Kazakh "sut", part of the core vocabulary shared across Turkic. Uyghur has the front rounded vowels ü and ö, which sit at the heart of its vowel harmony system.

16. تاماكا بارمۇ؟

    Ta-ma-ka bar-mu?

    Do you have cigarettes?

    Usage

    Cigarettes sit on the shelf behind the till, so pointing at the brand is safest. Refrain from smoking near mosques and religious sites, and during daylight in Ramadan it is courteous not to smoke or eat in public

    Grammar Note

    If they have none the answer is "yoq". Uyghur expresses existence with the independent words "bar" (there is) and "yoq" (there is not) rather than by conjugating a verb.

17. دۇكان سائەت قانچىدە ئېتىلىدۇ؟

    Du-kan sa-et qan-chi-de é-ti-li-du?

    What time does the shop close?

    Usage

    All of China officially keeps Beijing time, but daily life in Xinjiang runs on unofficial local time two hours behind, so shops often open close to midday. When asking about hours it is worth confirming which clock is meant

    Grammar Note

    "Étilidu" is the passive of "étish" (to close), giving "is closed / closes". To open is "échilidu". "Saet" comes from Arabic and means both clock and hour.

Browse all TravelPhrases languages