Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| abarrotería | /abaroteˈɾia/ | Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, feminine |
| abasto | /aˈbasto/ | Venezuela, masculine |
| almacén | /almaˈθen/ /almaˈsen/ |
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, masculine |
| bodega | /boˈdeɡa/ | Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Venezuela, feminine |
| colmado | /kolˈmado/ | masculine |
| pulpería | /pulpeˈɾia/ | Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, feminine |
| tienda de abarrotes | /tjenda de abarotes/ (from spelling rules) | Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, feminine |
| tienda de barrio | /tjenda de barjo/ (from spelling rules) | Bolivia, feminine |
| tienda de ultramarinos | /tjenda de ultɾamaɾinos/ (from spelling rules) | Spain, masculine |
| abacería | /abaθeˈɾia/ /abaseˈɾia/ |
feminine |
| encomendería | /enkomendeɾia/ (from spelling rules) | feminine |
A grocery store is a store where groceries can be purchased, especially a supermarket. While terms like abarrotería or bodega often refers to a small local shop, supermercado is used for large-scale supermarket chains.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase tienda de abarrotes literally means 'store of groceries'.
Which one should you use?
Tienda de barrio is used to describe a small, local grocery store located within a residential neighborhood.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Spanish speakers use many different terms for a grocery store depending on the region: • abarrotería is used in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. • abasto is used in Venezuela. • almacén is used in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. • bodega is used in Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico and some Central American countries. • colmado refers to a small grocery store or corner shop in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. • pulpería is used in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. • tienda de abarrotes is used in Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Peru. • tienda de barrio is used in Bolivia. • tienda de ultramarinos is used in Spain. • abacería
• encomendería
• In certain areas of Mexico, people might say miscelánea or abarrotes to refer to a small grocery store.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make tienda de abarrotes plural, you change both the noun and the article/prepositional structure to tiendas de abarrotes.
How do you pronounce it?
/abaroteˈɾia/
Did you know?
- The word bodega is actually a distant relative of the English word 'boutique'. Both words trace their history back to the same Ancient Greek root for a storehouse.
- If you are looking for a grocery store in Spain, you might look for a tienda de ultramarinos, which literally refers to goods from 'beyond the seas'.
- While almacén means grocery store in Argentina and Chile, it can mean a large department store in other Spanish-speaking countries.
Examples in context
- ¿Dondé esta la tienda de abastos?Where is the grocery store?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of the abasto.Tatoeba #10569294 by Seael, translation #10569291 by AlanF_US
- A la tienda donde compras comestibles se le llama almacén.The store where you buy groceries is called a grocery store.This sentence explains that a store for buying groceries is called an almacén.Tatoeba #1881600 by marcelostockle, translation #1881523 by Dejo
- Tom compró harina y levadura en la tienda de ultramarinos.Tom bought flour and yeast at the grocery store.This sentence shows how to use tienda de ultramarinos in a sentence about buying food supplies.Tatoeba #6478038 by mervert1, translation #3205376 by orcrist
- Voy al supermercadoI am going to the grocery store.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo are talking about what is missing for dinner.
- ElenaNo tenemos leche para el café.We don't have any milk for the coffee.
- MateoVoy a la abarrotería ahora mismo.I am going to the grocery store right now.
- ElenaCompra también un poco de azúcar, Mateo.Buy some sugar too, Mateo.
- MateoEstá bien, regreso en diez minutos.Okay, I'll be back in ten minutes.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grocery store” translations and entries abarrotería, abasto, almacén, bodega, colmado, pulpería, abacería, encomendería, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries abarrotería, abasto, almacén, bodega, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
