Convenience Store

1. Kote boutik ki pi pre a?

   Ko-te bou-tik ki pi pre a

   Where is the nearest shop?

   Usage

   Haiti has no Japanese-style convenience stores. Daily life runs on the "boutik", a corner shop selling rice, oil, charcoal and phone cards in small quantities. Port-au-Prince has supermarkets such as Eagle, but everyday shopping happens at the boutik and with street vendors ("machann").

   Grammar Note

   Superlatives are formed with "pi + adjective + definite article" (pi pre a = nearest). The definite article follows the noun and changes shape according to the preceding sound: a, la, an, lan, nan.

2. Ou vle yon sache?

   Ou vle yon sa-che

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Haiti banned the import and manufacture of polystyrene containers and plastic bags by decree in 2012, though thin black "sache" bags remain widespread in practice. Decline with "Non, mèsi".

   Grammar Note

   "Yon" is the indefinite article, from French un/une, with no gender distinction. Haitian Creole keeps French vocabulary but has shed gender agreement and verb conjugation entirely.

3. Èske w ka chofe sa a pou mwen?

   Ès-ke w ka cho-fe sa a pou mwen

   Could you heat this up for me?

   Usage

   A boutik almost never has a microwave, so expect a no. Haiti's power supply is severely constrained — even in the capital the grid may be up only a few hours a day. For hot food, head to a street eatery ("chen janbe") or a charcoal-fired stall.

   Grammar Note

   "Ka" is the preverbal particle for ability. Tense works the same way, with "te" (past), "ap" (progressive/future) and "pral" (near future) placed before the verb. "W" is the reduced form of "ou".

4. Èske w gen dlo glase?

   Ès-ke w gen dlo gla-se

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   Never drink the tap water in Haiti — buy treated sachet water ("dlo nan sache") or bottled brands such as Culligan. Frequent outages mean it is often not cold. Given the country's cholera history, always take a sealed container.

   Grammar Note

   "Dlo" fused the French article into the noun (de l'eau → dlo). Haitian Creole has many such words: zwazo (bird, from les oiseaux), zanmi (friend, from les amis).

5. Èske w gen glas?

   Ès-ke w gen glas

   Do you have ice?

   Usage

   Ice depends on electricity, so most boutiks do not carry it. Where it is sold it may be frozen tap water, so it is safer to keep it out of your drink. "Fresko" — shaved ice with syrup — is a classic street-cart treat.

   Grammar Note

   Placing "èske" at the front is enough to form a yes/no question. In speech it is often dropped and intonation alone carries the question: "W gen glas?" works fine.

6. Èske w pran kat kredi?

   Ès-ke w pran kat kre-di

   Do you take credit cards?

   Usage

   Haiti is overwhelmingly a cash economy, and a boutik will not take cards. Only large supermarkets and upscale hotels in Port-au-Prince accept them. Both US dollars and Haitian gourdes circulate, and beware: a price quoted in "dollars" often means the notional "Haitian dollar", equal to five gourdes.

   Grammar Note

   Modifiers normally follow the noun, giving "kat kredi". The phrase comes from French "carte de crédit" with the preposition "de" dropped.

7. Se kach sèlman.

   Se kach sèl-man

   Cash only.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Alongside cash, the mobile money service "MonCash" has spread fast in recent years, and many boutiks now accept payment via a phone number even though they take no cards.

   Grammar Note

   "Se" is the copula linking noun predicates. With adjectival predicates no copula appears at all — "Li bèl" (she is beautiful) — a sharp departure from English and French.

8. Ou gen monnen?

   Ou gen mon-nen

   Do you have change?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Running out of change is routine at a Haitian boutik: hand over a large note and you may be given goods instead of coins, or told the sale cannot proceed. Always keep small notes — 25, 50 and 100 gourdes.

   Grammar Note

   "Monnen", from French "monnaie", means change or small denominations rather than currency in general — for that, Haitians say "lajan" (from French l'argent).

9. Twalèt la kote?

   Twa-lèt la ko-te

   Where is the toilet?

   Usage

   A boutik will not have a customer toilet — assume the answer is no. Water and sewerage infrastructure is limited in Haiti and public toilets barely exist, so rely on hotels and restaurants or go before you head out.

   Grammar Note

   The question word "kote" can sit at either end of the sentence. Note the definite article "la" trailing the noun: French "la toilette" comes out as "twalèt la", with the order reversed.

10. Èske w gen kat rechaj Digicel?

    Ès-ke w gen kat re-chaj Di-gi-cel

    Do you have Digicel top-up cards?

    Usage

    Mobile top-up is the single biggest line of trade for Haitian boutiks and street vendors. Digicel and Natcom credit is available everywhere; give your number and it is loaded on the spot. It is the simplest way for a traveller to keep a local SIM running.

    Grammar Note

    "Rechaj" comes from French "recharge". Haitian Creole spelling is strictly phonemic, respelling French orthography as it sounds: recharge → rechaj, bonjour → bonjou.

11. Mwen vle senkant goud minit.

    Mwen vle sen-kant goud mi-nit

    I want fifty gourdes of phone credit.

    Usage

    This is how you name the top-up amount; Haitians call phone credit "minit" (minutes). Numerals follow French: en, de, twa, kat, senk … senkant (50), san (100). The gourde is the national currency, written "G" or "gdes" on price tags.

    Grammar Note

    Haitian nouns have no plural ending; plurality is marked by a following "yo" (goud yo = the gourdes). With a numeral, "yo" is omitted.

12. Ban m de nan sa yo.

    Ban m de nan sa yo

    Give me two of those.

    Usage

    Say this while pointing. Haitian boutiks work on "vann an detay" — selling in tiny quantities: a single cigarette, a cupful of oil, a few spoonfuls of powdered milk. The system is built around customers with little cash on hand.

    Grammar Note

    "Ban m" fuses "bay" (to give) with "mwen" (me). Pronouns commonly contract and attach to verbs in Haitian Creole: ban mwen → ban m, ou → w, li → l.

13. Nou pa gen sa jodi a.

    Nou pa gen sa jo-di a

    We do not have that today.

    Usage

    Said by staff. Haiti depends heavily on imports, and when unrest or road blockades — the so-called "peyi lòk" — halt logistics, fuel and food vanish quickly. The same shop's stock can look completely different day to day.

    Grammar Note

    Negation is simply "pa" before the verb — no conjugation or auxiliary required: Mwen pa konnen (I don't know), Li pa vini (he isn't coming).

14. Èske m ka chaje telefòn mwen la?

    Ès-ke m ka cha-je te-le-fòn mwen la

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Electricity is itself a commodity in Haiti: shops with a generator or solar panel run a side business charging neighbours' phones for roughly 10 to 25 gourdes a time. Look for a hand-painted "chaje telefòn" sign.

    Grammar Note

    Possession is expressed as noun + pronoun: telefòn mwen (my phone), kay ou (your house) — the reverse of the French "mon téléphone".

15. Ki lè boutik la fèmen?

    Ki lè bou-tik la fè-men

    What time does the shop close?

    Usage

    Going out after dark is generally inadvisable in Haiti for safety reasons, and most boutiks shut before nightfall. On Sunday people go to church in the morning and shops typically open only in the afternoon. Do your shopping in daylight.

    Grammar Note

    "Ki" is the all-purpose interrogative, combining with a following noun to form question words: ki lè (what time), ki moun (who), ki kote (where), ki jan (how).

16. Konbyen pou tout sa a?

    Kon-byen pou tout sa a

    How much for all of this?

    Usage

    Goods in a boutik often carry no price tag, so confirming the total out loud is normal. Bargaining is expected with market and street "machann", but staple goods in a boutik are usually fixed price. Check whether the figure is in gourdes or dollars.

    Grammar Note

    "Tout" (all) precedes the noun. The combination of demonstrative "sa" and article "a" — "sa a" — also stands alone as the pronoun "this one".

17. Mèsi anpil, n a wè pita.

    Mè-si an-pil, n a wè pi-ta

    Thank you very much, see you later.

    Usage

    The parting line at the counter. In Haiti it is expected that you greet on entering — "Bonjou" before noon, "Bonswa" after — and skipping it is genuinely rude. Treat greetings before and after a purchase as obligatory.

    Grammar Note

    "N a wè" contracts "nou" (we) + "a" (future marker) + "wè" (to see). The future particle "a", also written "va" or "ava", sits before the verb.

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