convenience store
- Thread starter Cyrrano
- Start date
I don't think there is an exact translation for convenience store. I agree with Mgerbe, Nachbarschaftsladen is not a commonly used word. There are expressions for different typers of convenience stores, like a Kiosk, but there is no generic term which has any relevance in day to day language. See the German Wikipedia article: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_Shop
There might be a cultural difference. As far as I can tell, German towns typically have many supermarkets scattered around various neighborhoods, often within walking distance. Besides, the Ladenschlussgesetz does not leave much scope for the equivalent of convenience store (except for petrol stations if I am not mistaken).
... or Kiosks or Bahnhofsläden or Trinkhallen (term used only in some regions) and possibly others.
convenience shop/store ==> Tante-Emma-Laden, in der Schweiz: Dorfladen, Quartierladen (in der Stadt)
I'd say the closest thing to a "convenience store" (as I would describe it) that I've seen in Switzerland is Coop, especially the smaller ones and/or those that are also gas/petrol stations (as Jana mentioned). Is there a general name for this, besides Tankstelle or Coop?
Well, yes, but no one ever said a "convenience store" had to be consumer-friendly. I would call both a Shell station (so similar to Coop) and a local mom-and-pop store (so Tante-Emma-Laden) "convenience stores," insofar as they both are small but at the same time carry all the basic essentials that one would need in a store (so a fine gamut of things), despite the fact that perhaps the mom-and-pop store may be friendlier/warmer and the Shell station colder/more commercialized/less consumer-friendly.Coop is a brand. As just two brands (Coop and Migros) monopolize (or rather duopolize) much of the retail business in Switzerland, you easily get the impression Coop or Migros were just normal words. Not very consumer-friendly.
Or did you mean that "Coop" and "Migros" are actually used as "normal words" to refer to a convenience-store type place? Kind of like the old kleenex = tissue paper situation.
A foreigner you could easily confuse it. I assumed you did when you suggested "Coop" as a translation for "convenience store".
Sometimes it is really almost like "Kleenex". I have heard people asking "Est-ce qu'il y a une Migros quelque part ici" apparently meaning "Is there a shop somewhere here?".
Sometimes it is really almost like "Kleenex". I have heard people asking "Est-ce qu'il y a une Migros quelque part ici" apparently meaning "Is there a shop somewhere here?".