Convenience Store

1. Kus saab taarat ära anda?

   kus saab TAA-rat Ä-ra AN-da

   Where can I return the empties?

   Usage

   Estonian cans and bottles carry a 10-cent deposit refunded by the return machine (taaraautomaat), usually outside the shop or in the entrance lobby. Empties are collectively called "taara" and taking them back is an everyday routine

   Grammar Note

   "Saab + infinitive" expresses impersonal possibility — what one can do — and is standard on signs and in general questions. "Ära anda" is a particle verb where "ära" adds the sense of giving something away for good

2. Võta tšekk kassasse kaasa.

   VÕ-ta tšekk KAS-sas-se KAA-sa

   Take the slip with you to the till.

   Usage

   Said by staff. The machine prints a barcoded slip, not cash — hand it in at the till for money back or to deduct from your shopping. Some shops give the slip only a few weeks' validity

   Grammar Note

   "Kassasse" is the illative of kassa, meaning "into the till area". Estonian marks direction with case endings rather than prepositions: -s for in, -sse for into, -st for out of

3. Kas soovid pandiraha annetada?

   kas SOO-vid PAN-di-ra-ha AN-ne-ta-da

   Would you like to donate the deposit?

   Usage

   Said by staff. The return machine has an "Anneta" donate button offering animal welfare or children's charities. To take the cash instead, answer "Ei aitäh, võtan raha"

   Grammar Note

   Questions are formed by simply putting "kas" at the front, with no change in word order. "Pandiraha" compounds the genitive of pant (deposit) with raha (money); the official term for the containers is pandipakend

4. Kas sellel pudelil on pandimärk?

   kas SEL-lel PU-de-lil on PAN-di-märk

   Does this bottle have the deposit mark?

   Usage

   Containers brought in from Finland or Latvia are rejected by Estonian machines. Look for the "pandimärk" — a circular arrow logo with 0,10 € — on the label. Wine bottles and imported juices are often outside the scheme

   Grammar Note

   Possession is expressed as owner + adessive (-l) + on + possessed thing. The demonstrative "see" inflects to match its noun, giving the matched pair "sellel pudelil"

5. Me sularaha ei võta.

   me SU-la-ra-ha ei VÕ-ta

   We do not take cash.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Estonia is heavily digitised, and small urban shops or self-checkout-only outlets increasingly refuse notes. Rural petrol-station shops usually still take cash

   Grammar Note

   Estonian negation uses an invariable "ei" plus a bare verb stem — unlike Finnish, the negator does not inflect for person. Negated clauses often place the object before the verb, hence "sularaha ei võta"

6. Kas siin saab ainult kaardiga maksta?

   kas siin saab AI-nult KAAR-di-ga MAK-sta

   Is card the only way to pay here?

   Usage

   Card payment is effectively the default in Estonia, used even for tiny amounts. If you only have notes, check as you walk in — the smaller the shop in Tallinn's Old Town, the likelier it is card-only

   Grammar Note

   "Kaardiga" is the comitative (-ga), used here as an instrumental "by means of". It attaches to the genitive stem kaardi; "sularahaga" (in cash) is built the same way

7. Kas soovid kilekotti? See maksab kakskümmend senti.

   kas SOO-vid KI-le-kot-ti? see MAK-sab KAKS-küm-mend SEN-ti

   Do you want a plastic bag? It costs twenty cents.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Since 2019 Estonia has banned giving out lightweight plastic bags for free, so every bag is charged. Decline with "Ei aitäh" — locals carry a cloth "riidest kott" instead

   Grammar Note

   A compound of kile (film / plastic sheet) and kott (bag). After a numeral the noun stands in the singular partitive, so it is "kakskümmend senti" and never a plural form

8. Kui kanget õlut te müüte?

   kui KAN-get Õ-lut te MÜÜ-te

   How strong a beer do you sell?

   Usage

   Estonia has no alcohol monopoly — beer, wine and spirits are all sold in ordinary shops. Sales are restricted by law to 10:00-22:00 and limited to over-18s, which is why so many Finns come over to stock up

   Grammar Note

   Mass substances like beer take the partitive, and the modifying adjective agrees: "kanget õlut". "Kui + adjective" asks about degree, exactly parallel to English "how strong"

9. Alkoholi müüme ainult kella kümnest kümneni.

   AL-ko-ho-li MÜÜ-me AI-nult KEL-la KÜM-nest KÜM-ne-ni

   We only sell alcohol from ten in the morning until ten at night.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Estonian law limits retail alcohol sales to 10:00-22:00, and outside those hours the till will refuse it. Many shops draw a curtain or shutter across the drinks shelves once the window closes

   Grammar Note

   A span of time pairs the elative -st (from) with the terminative -ni (until): "kella kümnest kümneni" means from ten o'clock to ten o'clock, with context settling morning versus evening

10. Palun näita isikut tõendavat dokumenti.

    PA-lun NÄI-ta I-si-kut TÕEN-da-vat DO-ku-men-ti

    Please show me an identity document.

    Usage

    Said by staff. You will be asked when buying alcohol or tobacco; Estonian rules require staff to check anyone who could be under 30. A passport is the safest document for visitors

    Grammar Note

    "Isikut tõendav dokument" is the fixed legal term for an ID document, built on the participle tõendav (proving). Because the head noun dokumenti is partitive, the participle agrees as tõendavat

11. Kas ma saan iseteeninduskassat kasutada?

    kas ma saan I-se-tee-nin-dus-kas-sat KA-su-ta-da

    Can I use the self-checkout?

    Usage

    R-Kiosk branches and larger shops in Tallinn have self-checkouts. They are card-only, and scanning alcohol or tobacco freezes the screen until staff verify your age. The display usually switches to English and Russian

    Grammar Note

    A compound of ise (self) + teenindus (service) + kassa (till). The object of kasutada stands in the partitive because using something is an unbounded activity, hence the final -t

12. Kas te saaksite selle soojaks teha?

    kas te SAAK-si-te SEL-le SOO-jaks TE-ha

    Could you heat this up?

    Usage

    Estonian kiosks rely on a hot counter rather than reheating — pirukas pastries and hot dogs come straight from the warmer. Use this line for a chilled item, or look for the customer microwave in petrol-station shops

    Grammar Note

    "Soojaks teha" uses the translative -ks to mean "make into a warm state". The translative marks change of state, as in "külmaks minna" (to go cold). Adding the conditional -ksi- softens the request

13. Üks pirukas ja kohv kaasa, palun.

    üks PI-ru-kas ja kohv KAA-sa, PA-lun

    One pastry and a coffee to take away, please.

    Usage

    A pirukas is a baked pastry filled with cabbage, minced meat or mushrooms — a staple of Estonian kiosks and cafés. Ask "Mis sees on?" to check the filling. Coffee is the standard companion

    Grammar Note

    "Kaasa" means "along with you" and marks a takeaway order; to eat in, say "siia" or "kohapeal". "Palun" covers both "please" and "here you are"

14. Kas ma saan siit oma paki kätte?

    kas ma saan siit O-ma PA-ki KÄT-te

    Can I collect my parcel here?

    Usage

    Estonia has one of the highest densities of parcel lockers anywhere — Omniva, Smartpost and DPD units line shop fronts and car parks. You open them with the PIN sent by SMS, often without involving staff at all

    Grammar Note

    "Kätte saama" is a particle verb built on kätte, the illative of käsi (hand) — literally "to get into one's hand". "Oma" is the reflexive possessive, usable for any subject and more natural here than "minu"

15. Kas te müüte ühistranspordi pileteid?

    kas te MÜÜ-te Ü-his-trans-por-di PI-le-teid

    Do you sell public transport tickets?

    Usage

    In Tallinn, R-Kiosk sells and tops up the ühiskaart travel card. Public transport is free for registered residents but not for visitors, and buying from the driver costs more — sort it out at a kiosk first

    Grammar Note

    Asking whether something is stocked implies an indefinite quantity, so the object takes the plural partitive -id. Modifiers precede in the genitive, giving "ühistranspordi pileteid"

16. Kolmas tankur, palun.

    KOL-mas TAN-kur, PA-lun

    Pump three, please.

    Usage

    Use this at a petrol-station shop when you fill up first and pay inside. Staffed Estonian stations take payment at the counter, while automated Olerex and Alexela sites are pay-at-pump by card — at night the shop is usually shut with only the pumps running

    Grammar Note

    Numbered items take the ordinal rather than the cardinal: "kolmas" (third), not "kolm" (three). Ordinals end in -s, though esimene (first) and teine (second) are irregular

17. Kas te olete ööpäev läbi avatud?

    kas te O-le-te ÖÖ-päev LÄ-bi A-va-tud

    Are you open around the clock?

    Usage

    Estonian R-Kiosks are often not open all night; round-the-clock trade is mostly petrol-station shops on main roads. Bear in mind that no alcohol can be bought after 22:00 regardless

    Grammar Note

    "Ööpäev" compounds öö (night) and päev (day) to mean a full 24-hour cycle — the same idea as Nordic dögn or Finnish vuorokausi, and distinct from päev meaning daytime

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