Unes sabates grans in Catalan
We return to the shop shoes of the wrong size in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia. Vull tramitar la devolució d'aquestes sabates.» — Hello. I want to process a return of these boots.; «Cap problema. Quan les va comprar?» — No problem at all. When did you buy them? The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: we return to the shop shoes of the wrong size. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Bon dia. Vull tramitar la devolució d'aquestes sabates.Hello. I want to process a return of these boots.
- Cap problema. Quan les va comprar?No problem at all. When did you buy them?
- Ahir. El problema és que no anava bé la mida: van quedar grans.Yesterday. The trouble is the size did not fit: they are a bit big.
- Entenc. Té el tiquet i l'embolcall?I see. Do you have the receipt and the packaging?
- Aquí els tinc. Potser en teniu una talla més gran, en estoc?Here they are. Maybe you have a bigger size, in stock?
- Ara mateix ho miro. Si no hi és, pot canviar-los per un altre model o recuperar els diners.Let me see. If not — you can exchange them for another model or get your money back.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia. Vull tramitar la devolució d'aquestes sabates. | — | Hello. I want to process a return of these boots. |
| Cap problema. Quan les va comprar? | — | No problem at all. When did you buy them? |
| Ahir. El problema és que no anava bé la mida: van quedar grans. | — | Yesterday. The trouble is the size did not fit: they are a bit big. |
| Entenc. Té el tiquet i l'embolcall? | — | I see. Do you have the receipt and the packaging? |
| Aquí els tinc. Potser en teniu una talla més gran, en estoc? | — | Here they are. Maybe you have a bigger size, in stock? |
| Ara mateix ho miro. Si no hi és, pot canviar-los per un altre model o recuperar els diners. | — | Let me see. If not — you can exchange them for another model or get your money back. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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 Catalan in this situation?
“Bon dia. Vull tramitar la devolució d'aquestes sabates.” — Hello. I want to process a return of these boots.. 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.