Convenience Store

1. 'O fea le fale'oloa lata mai?

   'O fe-a le fa-le-'o-lo-a la-ta mai?

   Where is the nearest shop?

   Usage

   Samoa has no Japanese-style convenience stores — the village fale'oloa fills that role. Most are family-run, often Chinese-owned, stocking drinks, tinned food, bread, soap and phone top-up cards. Apia has supermarkets, but in the villages the fale'oloa is where daily shopping happens

   Grammar Note

   "'O fea + noun phrase" asks where something is. "Fale" (house) is a highly productive root: fale'oloa (shop), falema'i (hospital), faletusi (library)

2. E fia le tau o lenei?

   E fi-a le tau o le-nei?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Village shops often display no price tags, so asking out loud is normal. The currency is the Samoan tala (WST) and small purchases are cash-only in practice

   Grammar Note

   "E fia" is the fixed way to ask about quantity. "Le" is the singular definite article; the plural counterpart is "o"

3. Fa'amolemole aumai le tasi

   Fa-'a-mo-le-mo-le au-mai le ta-si

   One, please

   Usage

   Many fale'oloa serve you across a counter rather than letting you pick items off the shelf, so pointing while saying this works well

   Grammar Note

   "Aumai" = "au" (carry) + "mai" (towards the speaker); handing something away is "avatu". This mai / atu directional contrast runs through all Polynesian languages

4. E iai ni vai mālūlū?

   E i-ai ni vai mā-lū-lū?

   Do you have cold water?

   Usage

   Samoa is hot and humid year-round, so cold drinks matter. Village fridges are sometimes off after a power cut, so it pays to add "mālūlū" (cold) when you ask

   Grammar Note

   Samoan articles distinguish specificity and number: "se" (indefinite singular), "ni" (indefinite plural), "le" (definite singular). Asking whether a shop stocks something is indefinite, hence se / ni

5. Fa'amolemole fa'avevela lenei

   Fa-'a-mo-le-mo-le fa-'a-ve-ve-la le-nei

   Please heat this up

   Usage

   Village shops have no microwave and offer no reheating. This is for Apia supermarkets, service-station shops and hotels. In the villages, hot food comes from the adjacent takeaway rather than the shop

   Grammar Note

   The prefix "fa'a-" is a highly productive causative: vevela (hot) → fa'avevela (make hot), malosi (strong) → fa'amalosi (strengthen)

6. E te mana'o i se 'ato?

   E te ma-na-'o i se 'a-to?

   Would you like a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Samoa has banned single-use plastic bags since 2019, so what you are offered is paper, cloth, or nothing at all — most people bring their own bag

   Grammar Note

   Samoan can form a yes-no question through intonation alone. The object of "mana'o" is regularly introduced by the preposition "i"

7. Ou te lē mana'o i se 'ato, fa'afetai

   Ou te lē ma-na-'o i se 'a-to, fa-'a-fe-tai

   No bag, thank you

   Usage

   How to decline a bag. Samoa's plastic rules are strict and refusing a bag is seen as good manners, not stinginess

   Grammar Note

   The negator "lē" sits directly before the verb. Macrons are meaning-bearing in Samoan: "lē" (not) and "le" (the) are different words

8. Fa'amolemole aumai se 'ato pepa

   Fa-'a-mo-le-mo-le au-mai se 'a-to pe-pa

   A paper bag, please

   Usage

   Because Samoa's shopping bags are now paper, "'ato pepa" is the accurate phrase. Some shops charge for them

   Grammar Note

   Samoan modifiers follow the noun: "ato pepa" is literally "bag paper" — the reverse of English order

9. E te mana'o i le risiti?

   E te ma-na-'o i le ri-si-ti?

   Would you like the receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Many village shops issue no receipt at all, so being asked is itself a sign you are in a supermarket or a proper Apia store

   Grammar Note

   Samoan reshapes English loans to its phonology: no consonant clusters and every word ends in a vowel, so "receipt" becomes "risiti"

10. Tupe pe kata?

    Tu-pe pe ka-ta?

    Cash or card?

    Usage

    Said by staff — though in practice village shops are cash-only. Cards work in Apia supermarkets, hotels and service stations. Keep small tala notes on you at all times

    Grammar Note

    "Pe" joins alternatives inside a question; in statements, "po'o" is used for "or"

11. E te talia kata?

    E te ta-li-a ka-ta?

    Do you accept cards?

    Usage

    Many places refuse cards for small amounts or set a minimum spend, so assume cash and treat card acceptance as a bonus

    Grammar Note

    "Talia" is the transitive form of "tali" (to receive), built with the suffix "-a". Samoan often marks transitivity with suffixes such as "-a" or "-ia"

12. Fa'amolemole aumai le tupe totoe

    Fa-'a-mo-le-mo-le au-mai le tu-pe to-to-e

    My change, please

    Usage

    Small shops often cannot break large notes — a 50 tala note may simply be refused. Keep 10s and 20s handy

    Grammar Note

    Change is expressed as "tupe totoe" (remaining money) — Samoan has no dedicated word for it and uses this descriptive compound instead

13. E iai se ATM iinei?

    E i-ai se ATM i-i-nei?

    Is there an ATM around here?

    Usage

    ATMs are limited to Apia, the airport and bank branches in larger villages. On Upolu's south coast and much of Savai'i you can go tens of kilometres without one, so withdraw before you set off

    Grammar Note

    Locatives go at the end of the clause. Samoan distinguishes three degrees of distance: "iinei" (here), "iina" (there), "iiga" (over there)

14. E iai ni kata telefoni?

    E i-ai ni ka-ta te-le-fo-ni?

    Do you sell phone top-up cards?

    Usage

    Samoan mobile service is mostly prepaid, and the village shop is the main top-up outlet. Digicel and Vodafone Samoa are the two carriers — the sign outside tells you which one a shop sells

    Grammar Note

    "Kata telefoni" is a noun-modifier compound, literally "card phone". In real speech the English word "top-up" is used just as often

15. E mafai ona ou fa'aaoga le faleta'ele?

    E ma-fai o-na ou fa-'a-ao-ga le fa-le-ta-'e-le?

    May I use the toilet?

    Usage

    Village shops rarely have a customer toilet; you may be shown the family one, which means stepping into someone's home — so asking properly matters. Churches, resorts and the market are more reliable

    Grammar Note

    "E mafai ona + subject + verb" asks about possibility or permission. "Fa'aaoga" is causative fa'a- plus "aogā" (useful) — literally "make useful", hence "use"

16. Fa'afetai tele lava

    Fa-'a-fe-tai te-le la-va

    Thank you very much

    Usage

    Say this as you leave. Courtesy carries real weight in Samoan culture, and a proper thank-you even after a tiny purchase is well received

    Grammar Note

    "Lava" is an all-purpose intensifier reinforcing the word before it, and it appears everywhere in Samoan. "Fa'afetai tele lava" is the fullest way to say thank you

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