Grocery shopping

يناير 21st, 2008

GroceryThere are several different words for a “store” or “shop” in Arabic. These include محل (mahall) and دكان (dukaan).
The word محل (mahall) is the most commonly used, especially in places including Egypt. To specify the type of store, you can say:
محل زهور (mahall zuhoor) - flower shop
محل بقالة (mahall baqal) - grocery store; alternatively, one can just say بقال (baqal)
محل ملابس (mahall malahbis) - clothing store
محل كبير (mahall kibeer) - department store (large store)
دكان (dukaan) is used more infrequently in Egypt, though has greater use in other areas (e.g. Kuwait). This word refers to a small shop, such as a neighborhood corner store.
In informal spoken Arabic (colloquial dialects), the word سوبرماركت, borrowed from English, is also used and understood.
Photo credit: stu spivack (Flickr), CC-BY-SA

About This Blog

I am studying Arabic at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, and will be in Egypt in the summer. This site covers Arabic grammar, vocabulary, and other aspects of the Arabic language, and makes frequent use of YouTube videos, news, and other Arabic language resources on the Internet.