"bottle shop" / "liquor store"

[tooironic]

How does one translate "bottle shop" ("liquor store").

It seems Chinese doesn't have a ready concept for it.

So far I've come across 酒店, 酒商店, 酒水商店, 卖酒店 and 贩酒店 as possible translations, but which is the most natural?

[BrandeX]

"I need a bottle of whiskey, where is the nearest 7-11?"

[fanglu]

I've seen 酒铺, but I doubt its all that common.

You see a lot more 烟酒商店s than just bottle shops, which I think is the problem.

[imron]

酒店 is definitely not correct as refers to a hotel and would give the reader a completely incorrect impression.

I agree with fanglu, it's not something very common in China. If people want alcohol in bulk, they'll typically just buy it at the local shop or supermarket, which unlike Australia, can have alcohol on their regular shelves.

烟酒商店 is probably the most similar in concept, but these are usually quite small compared to a bottle shop in Australia and is not quite the same thing. It's like when people translate 饼 as pancake - it's sort of correct, but not really. A google image search for 酒铺, provides a number of matches that demonstrate that this may be an acceptable term.

[roddy]

酒行？Although if it's anything like the UK's off-licence, you're going to need to explain the drinking culture, the restrictions on opening hours, the suspicious tendency to also sell king-size Rizlas and Pringles, and the frantic dashes to get there before they close.

[fanglu]

On a related note, is 'bottle shop' just an Australian name?

I remember once hearing a classmate mention a 瓶店 to our chinese teacher. The confused look on his face was priceless.

[imron]

I'm pretty sure it is (Edit: however Google tells me I'm wrong). Bottle-o definitely is

[skylee]

i would use 酒舖.

[tooironic]

Thanks for the replies. Verrry interesting. And yeah, we call them "bottle shops" or "bottle-os" in Australia, I added "liquor store" though to avoid confusion.

[Kenny同志]

I prefer 酒行. Not far from my campus there is one.

Check it out at : http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=%E9%85%92%E8%A1%8C&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

[tooironic]

It's pronunced jiǔháng, right?

[Kenny同志]

spot-on:wink:

[iwilberin5]

i would say: 賣酒的, sounds not so formal... just for reference

iwiberin5

[tooironic]

Well I've done some more asking around and it seems 酒行 is not very common, while 酒铺 is very rarely used at all (which makes sense considering the concept is also pretty foreign - "a special shop just for liquor? We sell them in supermarkets, restaurants or 烟酒专卖店 - which stock cigs and booze together!"). Moreover, 酒行 are usually bigger, while 酒铺 are usually smaller.

[Kenny同志]

就是 酒行

“行”的这种用法还见于，金行、钟表行、玉器行、米行（店）、布行、漆行等，也就是卖这种东西的地方。

Edited October 24, 2009 at 05:24 AM by kenny2006woo

[Kenny同志]

烟酒专卖店

时髦的说法（fashionable)

酒铺

旧时候的说法(old-fashioned)

酒行 （formal, not so often used as 烟酒专卖店 which is somewhat different with 酒行, because in 烟酒专卖店, the owner has tabacoo available.

[Kenny同志]

今天坐车去码头的时候看见几家专门买酒的商店招牌上都写着“某某酒行”。

This morning on my way to Haikou Port with a friend, I saw a couple of shops which offered only 酒，with all their 招牌s reading :" 某某酒行“

By the way, what do you call a 招牌 in English?

Do 酒行(专门卖酒的地方） and what you called bottle shops differ in any way?

[skylee]

besides 酒舖, 賣酒的 is also good.

[fanglu]

By the way, what do you call a 招牌 in English?

Sign

[Kenny同志]

thanks, Fanglu:D