Convenience Store

1. Stoa i stap wea?

   Sto-a i stap we-a

   Where is the shop?

   Usage

   Vanuatu has no Japanese-style convenience stores. Daily needs are met by small general shops called "stoa", most run by Chinese-Vanuatuan families. A few in Port Vila stay open late, but on the outer islands hours run from morning to early evening.

   Grammar Note

   "I" is the predicate marker that must follow a third-person subject — a backbone of Bislama syntax. "Stap", from English "stop", functions as the existential verb "to be located".

2. Yu wantem wan bag?

   Yu wan-tem wan bag

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Vanuatu banned single-use plastic bags, straws and polystyrene containers outright in 2018 — one of the first countries in the Pacific to do so — so what you get is cloth or paper. Decline with "No, tangkiu".

   Grammar Note

   "Wan" is both the numeral "one" and the indefinite article, like English "a". Note that the predicate marker "i" is not used after the second-person subject "yu".

3. Yu save mekem i hot?

   Yu sa-ve me-kem i hot

   Can you heat it up?

   Usage

   Vanuatu stoas rarely have a microwave or any heating service, so expect a no. For hot food, head to the cooked-food stalls at the municipal market (Mama's Market) or a roadside "kakae haos".

   Grammar Note

   "Save", from English "savvy", is the modal for both ability and knowledge. "Mekem + i + adjective" is the causative pattern meaning "to make something become X".

4. Yu gat kol wota?

   Yu gat kol wo-ta

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   Outer-island shops often run their generator only during the day, so drinks in the cooler may still be at room temperature — feel the bottle before buying. Outside Port Vila, power cuts are routine.

   Grammar Note

   "Gat", from English "got", covers both possession and existence. Adjectives precede the noun as in English (kol wota), reflecting Bislama's English lexicon carried on a Melanesian grammatical frame.

5. Yu gat aes?

   Yu gat a-es

   Do you have ice?

   Usage

   Bagged ice is available in the larger shops in the capital but almost never in a village stoa. If you are heading to an outer island, do not count on ice — bring an insulated container and freezer packs.

   Grammar Note

   Bislama spelling is phonetic, transcribing English pronunciation directly: ice → aes, house → haos, water → wota. Picturing the English spelling makes new words easy to decode.

6. Mi save pem wetem kad?

   Mi sa-ve pem we-tem kad

   Can I pay by card?

   Usage

   Vanuatu runs on cash, and small stoas are cash only. Cards work in supermarkets, resorts and larger shops in Port Vila and Luganville. The currency is the vatu, which has no subunit — prices never carry decimals.

   Grammar Note

   "Pem" derives from "pay him". Bislama transitive verbs take an "-em" suffix when they carry an object: luk (to look) → lukim (to look at), rid → ridim.

7. Sori, kas nomo.

   So-ri, kas no-mo

   Sorry, cash only.

   Usage

   Said by staff. Village shops in Vanuatu often lack not just a card terminal but a phone line. The rule of thumb is to withdraw enough cash at an ATM in Port Vila before heading to an outer island.

   Grammar Note

   "Nomo" comes from "no more" but in Bislama it marks restriction — "only". It follows the word it limits: wan nomo (only one), mi nomo (just me).

8. Yu gat smol mane?

   Yu gat smol ma-ne

   Do you have small change?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Small shops in Vanuatu often keep little change, and handing over a 5,000-vatu note is unwelcome. ATMs dispense large notes only, so break them at a bigger store before shopping in a village.

   Grammar Note

   "Smol mane" literally means "small money" and covers coins and small notes. With a compact lexicon, Bislama leans on combining existing words, and "bigfala" (big) and "smol" (small) do a lot of that work.

9. Toelet i stap wea?

   Toe-let i stap we-a

   Where is the toilet?

   Usage

   Shops almost never have one. In a village you will be pointed to the outdoor "smol haos" (little house), but always ask the owner first — walking onto someone's land uninvited is a serious discourtesy in Vanuatu.

   Grammar Note

   Unlike English, the question word "wea" does not move to the front — it stays where the answer would be. Hence "Yu go wea?" (Where are you going?).

10. Yu gat kredit blong Digicel?

    Yu gat kre-dit blong Di-gi-cel

    Do you have Digicel top-up credit?

    Usage

    Selling mobile top-up is one of the main functions of a Vanuatu stoa. Even tiny village shops carry Digicel and Vodafone credit: you name an amount, they enter your number and the credit lands immediately. This is how travellers keep a local SIM alive.

    Grammar Note

    "Blong", from English "belong", is an all-purpose preposition covering possession, origin, purpose and material: haos blong mi (my house), man blong Vanuatu (a ni-Vanuatu person).

11. Mi wantem faev handred vatu kredit.

    Mi wan-tem faev han-dred va-tu kre-dit

    I want 500 vatu of credit.

    Usage

    This is how you name the top-up amount. The vatu trades at roughly 100 vatu to 0.8 US dollars. Numbers follow English forms — wan, tu, tri, fo, faev — combined with "handred" and "taosen".

    Grammar Note

    Bislama verbs do not inflect for tense; time is shown with particles such as "bambae" (future) and "finis" (completive). "Mi wantem" therefore states a present want as it stands.

12. Stoa i open long wanem taem?

    Sto-a i o-pen long wa-nem ta-em

    What time does the shop open?

    Usage

    Shops in Vanuatu open around seven in the morning and close about six in the evening, with some shutting over the middle of the day. Sunday revolves around church, so many close all day or open only in the afternoon.

    Grammar Note

    "Long" is the general-purpose preposition for place, time, direction and means — one of Bislama's two workhorse prepositions alongside "blong": long Vila (in Vila), long moning (in the morning).

13. Mifala i sat long Sande.

    Mi-fa-la i sat long San-de

    We are closed on Sunday.

    Usage

    Said by staff. Christianity is deeply rooted in Vanuatu, and many villages observe Sunday as "Sande blong Lod" — no trading, no work. Buy your weekend food on Saturday.

    Grammar Note

    Bislama distinguishes four kinds of "we": yumitu (you and I), yumi (inclusive plural), mitufala (I and one other), mifala (exclusive plural). Shop staff speaking of themselves use "mifala".

14. Mi save jajem fon blong mi long ples ya?

    Mi sa-ve ja-jem fon blong mi long ples ya

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    On the outer islands electricity itself is scarce, with settlements running on solar panels and generators. A shop or guesthouse may let you charge, sometimes for a fee of 100 to 200 vatu. Always ask rather than plugging in.

    Grammar Note

    "Ya" is a post-posed demonstrative pointing back at the noun before it: ples ya (this place), man ya (this man). It corresponds to English this/that but follows the noun.

15. Hamas long samting ya evriwan?

    Ha-mas long sam-ting ya ev-ri-wan

    How much for all of this?

    Usage

    Plenty of goods in a Vanuatu shop carry no price tag, so asking for the total at the counter is normal. Prices vary by shop, and on the outer islands freight can push them to one and a half or two times Port Vila levels.

    Grammar Note

    "Hamas", from "how much", asks about both price and quantity — it even covers age, as in "Hamas yia blong yu?" (How old are you?).

16. Mi wantem tufala nomo.

    Mi wan-tem tu-fa-la no-mo

    I want just two.

    Usage

    Use this to state a quantity. Vanuatu shops readily sell tinned goods and biscuits individually, so you can buy only what you need — quite different from the packaged-only norm elsewhere.

    Grammar Note

    The suffix "-fala" attaches to numerals and adjectives: tufala (two), trifala (three), bigfala (big). It is a shared feature of Melanesian pidgins, matching "-pela" in Tok Pisin.

17. Tangkiu tumas, lukim yu.

    Tang-kiu tu-mas, lu-kim yu

    Thank you very much, see you.

    Usage

    The standard sign-off as you leave. A little small talk with the shopkeeper is expected in Vanuatu; buying in silence comes across as cold. Opening with "Halo" or "Olsem wanem?" (How's it going?) goes a long way.

    Grammar Note

    "Tumas" comes from "too much" but carries no negative sense — it simply intensifies. It follows the adjective: gud tumas (very good), hot tumas (very hot).

Browse all TravelPhrases languages