Nouns in -ariá

Level 4

-ariá names a place of a trade: ostalariá, pastissariá.

How It Works

PersonPlace or tradeMeaning
ostalièrostalariáhotel, inn
pastissièrpastissariápastry shop
peissonièrpeissonariáfish shop

The accent on á shows that the stress falls on the last syllable. It stays in the plural: una ostalariá, las ostalariás.

All these nouns are feminine, so they take la or una and a feminine adjective: una ostalariá polida.

The person who works there is named with the -ièr noun: l'ostalièr, lo pastissièr, lo peissonièr. Librariá, the bookshop, ends in the same way.

To ask where a shop is, use ont: Ont es la pastissariá?

Examples (5)

  1. Dormissèm dins una ostalariá a Carcassona.

    We sleep in a hotel in Carcassonne.

    Ostalariá is the place where a person runs an inn.

  2. Maria trabalha dins una pastissariá.

    Maria works in a pastry shop.

    Pastissariá comes from pastissièr.

  3. La librariá es barrada lo dimenge.

    The bookshop is closed on Sunday.

    Librariá is feminine, so barrada agrees.

  4. Joan cròmpa lo peis a la peissonariá.

    Joan buys the fish at the fish shop.

    A la shows that peissonariá is feminine.

  5. I a tres ostalariás dins la vila.

    There are three hotels in the town.

    The plural keeps the accent: ostalariás.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving the noun the masculine article.

    Dormissèm dins un ostalariá.
    Dormissèm dins una ostalariá.

    Nouns in -ariá are feminine.

  • Dropping the accent.

    Maria trabalha dins una pastissaria.
    Maria trabalha dins una pastissariá.

    The accent on á marks the stress and is part of the spelling.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Nouns in -ariáLevel 4

Learn This First

The ending -ariá names a shop or trade and sits beside the other trade endings, so those and word stress come first.