Hebrew for the Grocery Store: What You’ll Hear and Say

If you shop in Israel, you do not need fluent Hebrew to get through the grocery store.

You mainly need a small set of phrases that come up again and again:

• at the checkout
• in the produce section
• when you need help finding something
• when the cashier asks a quick question

The good news is that grocery-store Hebrew is very predictable.

The question you’ll hear most often

• צריך שקית?
  Do you need a bag?

You can answer very simply:

• כן
  Yes

• לא
  No

If you want to sound a little more complete, you can also say:

• כן, תודה
  Yes, thanks

• לא, תודה
  No, thanks

At the checkout

These are common questions at the register:

• אשראי או מזומן?
  Card or cash?

• יש לך מועדון?
  Do you have a membership / store club?

• זה הכל?
  Is that everything?

• תרצה/תרצי קבלה?
  Would you like a receipt?

A few useful responses:

• אשראי
  Card

• מזומן
  Cash

• לא, תודה
  No, thanks

• כן, תודה
  Yes, thanks

Note: תרצה is masculine and תרצי is feminine.

Asking where something is

If you can’t find something, the simplest pattern is:

• איפה ה…?
  Where is the…?

Examples:

• איפה החלב?
  Where is the milk?

• איפה הלחם?
  Where is the bread?

• איפה המים?
  Where is the water?

You can also ask:

• יש לכם…?
  Do you have…?

Examples:

• יש לכם לחם?
  Do you have bread?

• יש לכם חלב?
  Do you have milk?

If you want help from a worker, a simple start is often enough:

• סליחה, איפה החלב?
  Excuse me, where is the milk?

Produce: fruits and vegetables

The produce section often works a little differently from the rest of the store.

Useful phrases and signs include:

• זה לפי משקל
  It’s by weight

• אתה צריך לשקול
  You need to weigh it

• לשקול
  To weigh

• מדבקה
  Sticker / label

In some stores, you weigh the produce yourself and print a sticker before going to the cashier.

If you are not sure what to do, look for the scale or ask:

• איפה שוקלים?
  Where do you weigh it?

A few words that come up a lot

These are especially useful in supermarkets:

• מבצע
  Sale / special offer

• קופה
  Checkout / register

• עגלה
  Shopping cart

• סל
  Basket

• מחיר
  Price

• משקל
  Weight

You do not need all of these at once, but they show up constantly on signs and in short conversations.

A real mini dialogue

Cashier:

• צריך שקית?

You:

• כן, תודה

Cashier:

• אשראי או מזומן?

You:

• אשראי

Cashier:

• יש לך מועדון?

You:

• לא

Cashier:

• זה הכל?

You:

• כן, תודה

That is a normal grocery-store exchange.

What to focus on first

If you only learn a few things, learn these patterns:

• צריך שקית?
• אשראי או מזומן?
• יש לך מועדון?
• איפה ה…?
• יש לכם…?
• זה הכל?

Those phrases cover a lot of real supermarket Hebrew.

Keep building from here

If you want more practical Hebrew for everyday situations, these pages connect well:

• Hebrew Food Vocabulary You’ll Hear in Restaurants
• Essential Hebrew Phrases
• Common Hebrew Conversation Phrases: Real Phrases You’ll Hear in Israel
• Hebrew Word Order in Real Life

Bottom line

Grocery-store Hebrew is mostly about a few repeated patterns.

Learn the checkout questions, the bag question, and the basic way to ask where something is.

That is enough to make shopping in Israel much easier.