Taking the laptop in for repair in Arabic
The service center's intake desk, a working day in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «الحاسوب لا يشحن ويصدر ضجيجا.» — The laptop does not charge and is noisy; «هل فحصت الأسلاك والمقبس؟» — Did you check the wires and the socket?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the service center's intake desk, a working day. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- الحاسوب لا يشحن ويصدر ضجيجا.аль-хаасууб ля йюшаххан ва-йусдир дажийан.The laptop does not charge and is noisy.
- هل فحصت الأسلاك والمقبس؟халь фахаста аль-асляак ва-ль-макбис؟Did you check the wires and the socket?
- نعم، لكن الشاشة ترمش أحيانا.наам, лякинн аш-шаша тярмиш ахьянан.Yes, but the screen sometimes blinks.
- سنعمل تشخيصا. كلفته مئة يورو.санʿамаль ташхиисан. кульфатуху миʾа йуро.We will do a diagnosis. It costs a hundred euros.
- وكم مدة الإصلاح؟ва-кам муддат аль-исляах؟And what is the repair time?
- أسبوعان، وقطعة غيار من الخارج.усбууʿаан, ва-кытаʿат гияр мин аль-хяаридж.Two weeks, and the spare part is from abroad.
- وإذا كان لا يمكن إصلاحه؟ва-иза кяна ля йюмкин исляахуху؟And if it cannot be repaired?
- ستدفع التشخيص فقط. يفتح طلبا هنا.сатадаʿ ат-ташхиис факат. йяфтах талябан хуна.You will pay only for the diagnosis. The request will be opened here.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| الحاسوب لا يشحن ويصدر ضجيجا. | аль-хаасууб ля йюшаххан ва-йусдир дажийан. | The laptop does not charge and is noisy. |
| هل فحصت الأسلاك والمقبس؟ | халь фахаста аль-асляак ва-ль-макбис؟ | Did you check the wires and the socket? |
| نعم، لكن الشاشة ترمش أحيانا. | наам, лякинн аш-шаша тярмиш ахьянан. | Yes, but the screen sometimes blinks. |
| سنعمل تشخيصا. كلفته مئة يورو. | санʿамаль ташхиисан. кульфатуху миʾа йуро. | We will do a diagnosis. It costs a hundred euros. |
| وكم مدة الإصلاح؟ | ва-кам муддат аль-исляах؟ | And what is the repair time? |
| أسبوعان، وقطعة غيار من الخارج. | усбууʿаан, ва-кытаʿат гияр мин аль-хяаридж. | Two weeks, and the spare part is from abroad. |
| وإذا كان لا يمكن إصلاحه؟ | ва-иза кяна ля йюмкин исляахуху؟ | And if it cannot be repaired? |
| ستدفع التشخيص فقط. يفتح طلبا هنا. | сатадаʿ ат-ташхиис факат. йяфтах талябан хуна. | You will pay only for the diagnosis. The request will be opened here. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Arabic in this situation?
“الحاسوب لا يشحن ويصدر ضجيجا.” (аль-хаасууб ля йюшаххан ва-йусдир дажийан.) — The laptop does not charge and is noisy. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.