Convenience Store

1. Kawkhansa mä tienda utji?

   Kaw-khan-sa mä ti-en-da ut-ji?

   Where is there a shop?

   Usage

   There are no Japanese-style convenience stores in the Aymara-speaking region of western Bolivia and southern Peru. Daily needs are met by the "tienda", a shop run out of a front room, countless of them on the corners of La Paz and El Alto, often trading through a barred window. Business is normally in Spanish, but greeting an Aymara-speaking shopkeeper in Aymara warms things up instantly.

   Grammar Note

   Questions take the suffix "-sa", which attaches to the question word itself: kawkha (where) → kawkhansa (where at?). Aymara is agglutinative, stacking suffixes so that a single word can carry the content of a whole sentence.

2. Aka qawqhasa?

   A-ka qaw-qha-sa?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Goods rarely carry price tags, so you will always be asking. Bolivia's currency is the boliviano (Bs), and a tienda purchase typically runs 1 to 10 bolivianos. Foreigners are sometimes quoted a higher figure — asking in Aymara often gets you the local price.

   Grammar Note

   Aymara has uvular consonants (q, qh, q') with no English equivalent; the q in "qawqha" is articulated deep in the throat. Plain (q), aspirated (qh) and ejective (q') forms distinguish meaning, so the contrast matters.

3. Bolsa muntati?

   Bol-sa mun-ta-ti?

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. A 2019 Bolivian law began phasing out single-use plastic bags, and city shops increasingly charge for them. Thin bags are still common in markets, though many people carry a cloth "aguayo" instead.

   Grammar Note

   "Muntati" is "munta" (you want, from munaña) plus "-ti", the suffix that forms a yes/no question. Answer with "Jisa" (yes) or "Janiwa" (no).

4. Thaya uma utjiti?

   Tha-ya u-ma ut-ji-ti?

   Is there cold water?

   Usage

   The altiplano sits above 3,600 m and is extremely dry, so drinking plenty of water is basic altitude-sickness care. Locals, though, tend to prefer warm drinks such as coca tea, and a tienda without refrigeration will only have room-temperature bottles.

   Grammar Note

   Aymara word order is basically SOV, and adjectives precede the noun: thaya uma (cold + water). The existential "utji" plus the question suffix "-ti" gives "utjiti" (is there?).

5. Chhullunkhaya utjiti?

   Chhu-llun-kha-ya ut-ji-ti?

   Do you have ice?

   Usage

   The altiplano drops below freezing at night, so there is little demand for ice and a tienda will almost never stock it. "Chhullunkhaya" refers to natural ice and icicles; for ice as a product people use the Spanish "hielo".

   Grammar Note

   Aymara distinguishes aspirated (chh, kh, th, ph, qh) from ejective (ch', k', t', p', q') consonants. The chh in "chhullunkhaya" carries a strong puff of air; dropping the h yields a different phoneme altogether.

6. Tarjetampi payllañ muntwa.

   Tar-je-tam-pi pay-llañ mun-twa.

   I would like to pay by card.

   Usage

   A Bolivian tienda runs on cash; cards work only in city supermarkets and malls. QR payment services such as Tigo Money have spread in recent years, but in the countryside cash is the only option — carry plenty of small notes.

   Grammar Note

   The case suffix "-mpi" means "with" (comitative or instrumental). The final "-wa" is an evidential marker asserting the speaker's direct knowledge — Aymara grammatically encodes the source of information.

7. Qullqikiwa.

   Qull-qi-ki-wa.

   Cash only.

   Usage

   Said by staff. "Qullqi" originally meant silver and came to mean money. Silver has been precious in the Andes since before the Inca, and the word carries the weight of the Potosí mines.

   Grammar Note

   Aymara can build a complete sentence from a single word by stacking suffixes: qullqi (money) + -ki (only) + -wa (assertion) states "it is cash only" with no verb at all.

8. Janiw sencillo utjkiti.

   Ja-niw sen-ci-llo ut-jki-ti.

   I have no change.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Change shortages are routine in Bolivia, and handing a 100-boliviano note to a small tienda usually means being turned away. ATMs mostly dispense 100s, so break them at a supermarket or pharmacy first.

   Grammar Note

   Negation is doubly marked: "janiw" at the front and the "-ki…-ti" frame on the verb. "Utji" (there is) becomes "janiw utjkiti" (there is none); both parts are required.

9. Maya churita, kullaka.

   Ma-ya chu-ri-ta, ku-lla-ka.

   Give me one, sister.

   Usage

   Aymara custom is to address even strangers with a kinship term: "kullaka" (sister) for a woman, "jilata" (brother) for a man, which immediately softens the exchange. Bolivians also use "casera / casero" for the regular vendor-customer relationship.

   Grammar Note

   "Churita" is the imperative of "churaña" (to give) with the first-person object suffix "-ita" (to me). The numerals are maya (1), paya (2), kimsa (3), pusi (4), phisqa (5).

10. Aka junt'uchita.

    A-ka jun-t'u-chi-ta.

    Please heat this up for me.

    Usage

    A tienda almost never has a microwave, so there is rarely anyone to ask. For hot food on the altiplano, head to the cooked-food section of a market or a street stall selling salteñas and api.

    Grammar Note

    "Junt'u" (hot) takes the verbaliser "-cha" (to make X) and the first-person object "-ita", giving "junt'uchita" (make it hot for me) — a textbook example of Aymara suffix stacking.

11. Janiw utjkiti.

    Ja-niw ut-jki-ti.

    There is none.

    Usage

    Said by staff. A tienda is a narrow shopfront with a tight range of everyday goods. If the answer is no, head for the mercado — Bolivian markets carry everything from produce to electronics.

    Grammar Note

    A complete negative sentence in two words. Aymara answers yes with "Jisa" and no with "Janiwa", the latter carrying the assertive "-wa" ending.

12. Kawkhansa baño utji?

    Kaw-khan-sa ba-ño ut-ji?

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    A tienda has no customer toilet. In Bolivia, bus terminals and markets have pay toilets costing one or two bolivianos, with paper charged separately or not provided at all — carry your own.

    Grammar Note

    Native Aymara words for a toilet have effectively dropped out of daily speech in favour of Spanish "baño". Modern Aymara leans heavily on Spanish borrowings for anything to do with modern life.

13. Celularataki carga utjiti?

    Ce-lu-la-ra-ta-ki car-ga ut-ji-ti?

    Do you have mobile top-up?

    Usage

    Mobile top-up is among the best-selling items in a Bolivian tienda. Entel, Tigo and Viva credit is loaded in increments of ten bolivianos: give your number and it lands immediately — the standard way for travellers to keep a local SIM alive.

    Grammar Note

    The case suffix "-taki" (for) attaches even to Spanish loanwords. Other Aymara case suffixes include -na (of), -ru (to) and -tha (from), all appended to the noun to mark its role.

14. Kunapachasa jist'antapxta?

    Ku-na-pa-cha-sa jis-t'an-tap-xta?

    What time do you close?

    Usage

    Tiendas in La Paz and El Alto open early and stay open into the evening, but many close on Sunday. El Alto's huge open-air fair runs on Thursdays and Sundays, and nearby shops fall in with its rhythm. On festival days everything may shut at once.

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-pxa-" marks a plural subject: jist'anta (you close) → jist'antapxta (you all close). "Kunapacha" compounds kuna (what) with pacha (time, world).

15. Aka pusi bolivianowa.

    A-ka pu-si bo-li-vi-a-no-wa.

    This is four bolivianos.

    Usage

    Said by staff, though prices are usually quoted with Spanish numbers in practice. Boliviano coins come in 1, 2 and 5, notes in 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200. Centavo coins barely circulate, so small change is typically rounded off.

    Grammar Note

    The assertive suffix "-wa" attaches to the final element of the clause and turns it into a predicate. With "-wa" alone a sentence stands complete, no verb required — a hallmark of Aymara.

16. Yuspagara, jilata.

    Yus-pa-ga-ra, ji-la-ta.

    Thank you, brother.

    Usage

    The parting line at the counter. "Yuspagara" is the Spanish "Dios se lo pague" (may God repay you) absorbed into Aymara during colonial-era Catholic missions, and it is now the most common way to say thank you.

    Grammar Note

    Native Aymara has other ways of expressing gratitude, but "yuspagara" dominates everyday use. The vocative "jilata / kullaka" is chosen according to the gender of the person addressed.

Browse all TravelPhrases languages