Convenience Store

1. Månu nai gaige i tenda ni hihot?

   Ma-nu nai gai-ge i ten-da ni hi-hot

   Where is the nearest store?

   Usage

   Guam and Saipan have 7-Eleven and Circle K alongside a family-run "tenda" in every village. "Tenda", from Spanish "tienda", covers both chain convenience stores and mom-and-pop shops. Business is conducted in English, but Chamorro is warmly received by older shopkeepers.

   Grammar Note

   "Månu" primarily means "which"; it means "where" only in the frame "Månu nai ...", with nai, the complementizer for places. "Gaige" is the locative verb meaning "to be situated"

2. Kao malago' hao ni bulsa?

   Kao ma-la-go hao ni bul-sa

   Would you like a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Guam banned single-use plastic checkout bags in 2021, so paper and reusable bags are charged. "Bulsa" comes from Spanish "bolsa" (bag) and also means pocket.

   Grammar Note

   Sentence-initial "kao" turns a statement into a yes/no question; drop it and you have a declarative. "Ni" introduces an object or instrument.

3. Kao siña un na'maipe este?

   Kao si-nya un na-mai-pe es-te

   Could you heat this up?

   Usage

   Convenience stores on Guam usually put the microwave on the customer side, so you heat things yourself. Chamorro has no traditional word for a microwave oven, so it is natural to ask for the food to be heated without naming the appliance.

   Grammar Note

   "Na'-" is the causative prefix meaning "to make something be X": maipe (hot) → na'maipe (to heat). The same pattern gives na'fresko (to cool) and na'bunita (to beautify).

4. Kao guaha hånom ni manengheng?

   Kao gua-ha ha-nom ni ma-neng-heng

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   The Marianas are hot and humid year round, so hydration matters. Guam's tap water is potable but hard, and most people buy bottled. During typhoon season (July to November) water gets stockpiled ahead of outages and can vanish from the shelves.

   Grammar Note

   "Guaha" is the existential verb "there is"; its negative counterpart is "taya'" (there is none). "Ni" links the following adjective back to the noun like a relative marker.

5. Kao guaha ais?

   Kao gua-ha ais

   Do you have ice?

   Usage

   Bagged ice is usually sold from a freezer chest outside the store. Coolers are essential for beach fiestas and barbecues on Guam, so ice is a staple purchase. "Ais" is borrowed from English "ice".

   Grammar Note

   "Ice" uses ais, an English loan. It also appears in forms such as mama'ais (to freeze) and hånom ais (ice water).

6. Kao siña hu apåsi ni kåtta?

   Kao si-nya hu a-pa-si ni kat-ta

   Can I pay by card?

   Usage

   Guam and the Northern Marianas use the US dollar and take cards almost everywhere, though a small village tenda may be cash only. Because they are US territories, tipping applies — not at a convenience store, but at restaurants.

   Grammar Note

   Chamorro marks the agent with a preverbal clitic — hu (I), un (you), ha (he/she) — so the subject is clear without a separate pronoun.

7. Salåpe' ha' guini.

   Sa-lap-pe ha gui-ni

   Cash only here.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Village tendas and roadside fruit stands still run on cash. "Salåpe'" (with a single p) is the Chamorro word for money, an old term thought to have referred originally to shell or silver currency.

   Grammar Note

   "Ha'" follows a word to restrict it to "only that": guahu ha' (only me), pa'go ha' (only now). It attaches to nouns and adverbs alike.

8. Kao malago' hao ni resibu?

   Kao ma-la-go hao ni re-si-bu

   Would you like the receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Guam has no retail sales tax; instead a 4% Business Privilege Tax is paid by the merchant and built into the price, so the receipt often shows no separate tax line.

   Grammar Note

   "Resibu" is from Spanish "recibo". Chamorro loanwords regularly shift a final -o to -u, giving forms such as recibo → resibu and libro → lepblo.

9. Nå'i yo' unu ha' put fabót.

   Na-i yo u-nu ha put fa-bot

   Just one, please.

   Usage

   Say this while pointing at the item. Chamorro now counts almost entirely with Spanish-derived numerals (unu, dos, tres, kuåttro, singko); the original Austronesian series (håcha, hugua, tulu) survives mainly in ceremony and language classes.

   Grammar Note

   "Put fabot" is borrowed from Spanish "por favor" and is appended to requests. "Yo'" is the object-form clitic for "me", distinct from the subject pronoun "guahu".

10. Månu nai gaige i kemmon?

    Ma-nu nai gai-ge i kem-mon

    Where is the restroom?

    Usage

    Many convenience stores on Guam have no customer restroom; gas-station shops, parks and beach parks are more reliable. "Kemmon" is the Chamorro word for toilet, sometimes traced to Japanese "benjo" from the wartime occupation.

    Grammar Note

    "I" is the definite article, equivalent to English "the", placed before a specific noun. For an indefinite one use "un": "un kemmon" (a toilet).

11. Kuanto todu?

    Kuan-to to-du

    How much is it all together?

    Usage

    A short way to confirm the total at the register. On Guam the shelf price is usually what you pay, since there is no retail sales tax — unlike Hawaiʻi or the mainland where tax is added afterwards.

    Grammar Note

    Both "kuånto" and "todu" are Spanish borrowings (cuánto, todo). Chamorro freely uses verbless noun-phrase questions like this in everyday speech.

12. Tåya' esta. Dispensa yo'.

    Ta-ya es-ta. Dis-pen-sa yo

    We are out of it, sorry.

    Usage

    Said by staff. Almost everything in the Marianas arrives by ship or air, so shelves run empty before a supply vessel docks. After a typhoon, fresh goods and water can be scarce for days or weeks.

    Grammar Note

    "Taya'" is the negative counterpart of "guaha" and can stand alone to mean "there is none". The apology "dispensa" comes from Spanish "dispensar" (to excuse); with the object clitic "yo'" it means "forgive me".

13. Kao siña hu na'bula i tilifon-hu guini?

    Kao si-nya hu na-bu-la i ti-li-fon-hu gui-ni

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Few stores open their outlets to customers, so expect a refusal. Note that using "na'bula" (to fill) for charging is a modern descriptive turn of phrase rather than a traditional term — in everyday speech people just say the English word "charge".

    Grammar Note

    tilifón means "telephone". Possession is marked by suffixes on the noun: -hu (my), -mu (your), -ña (his/her); the stress shifts under suffixation, so tilifon-hu is "my phone" and tilifon-mu is "your phone".

14. Kao guaha ATM giya guini?

    Kao gua-ha ATM gi-ya gui-ni

    Is there an ATM here?

    Usage

    In-store ATMs on Guam charge roughly three dollars per withdrawal; Bank of Guam and BankPacific branch machines are cheaper and cluster in Tumon and at the Micronesia Mall. Chamorro has no word for an ATM — the English abbreviation is used as is.

    Grammar Note

    "Giya" is the locative preposition placed before place names and locations (giya Hagåtña = in Hagåtña). Combined with "guini" (here) it emphasises the location.

15. Hu fåhan este, saina.

    Hu fa-han es-te, sai-na

    I will buy this.

    Usage

    Say this as you hand over the item. "Fåhan" is to buy, paired with "bende" (to sell). Adding "saina" (elder, respected one) shows deference to an older shopkeeper. Chamorro culture places heavy weight on "respetu", so people often yield their place in line to older customers.

    Grammar Note

    "Saina" refers to a parent, elder or respected figure and adds politeness when used as a term of address. The verb "fåhan" needs only the preposed clitic "hu" (I) to fix its person — no tense marker is required.

16. Si Yu'os Ma'åse', esta agupa'.

    Si Yu-os ma-a-se, es-ta a-gu-pa

    Thank you, see you tomorrow.

    Usage

    The parting line as you leave the counter. "Si Yu'os Ma'åse'" literally means "may God have mercy on you" and is the standard Chamorro thank-you. The reply is "Buen probechu" (you're welcome).

    Grammar Note

    "Si" is the proper-noun marker used before personal and divine names, as in "Si Juan". "Esta + time" means "until then": esta agupa' (see you tomorrow), esta despues (see you later).

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