Itzulketa dendan in Basque
Returning a dress at the shop in Basque. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Egun on. Soineko hau itzuli nahi dut.» — Good afternoon. I want to return this dress.; «Arazorik ez. Badu tiketa erosketarena?» — No problem. Do you have the purchase receipt? 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: returning a dress at the shop. 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.
- Egun on. Soineko hau itzuli nahi dut.Good afternoon. I want to return this dress.
- Arazorik ez. Badu tiketa erosketarena?No problem. Do you have the purchase receipt?
- Bai, hemen dut. Arazoa tamaina da: tamainak ez zaizkit etortzen.Yes, here it is. The problem is the size: the size did not fit.
- Beste tamaina bat dugu biltegian. Aldatu nahi duzu, ala itzulketa egin nahi duzu?We have another size in the stockroom. Will you exchange it or do you want a refund?
- Aldatuko dut, mesedez, baina beste kolore batera: beltza behar dut.I will exchange it, please, but for a different color: I need black.
- Ondo. Orduan, sari-txartela erabiliko duzu hurrengo erosketan.Good. Then you will use the bonus card on your next purchase.
Lines one by one
| Basque | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Egun on. Soineko hau itzuli nahi dut. | — | Good afternoon. I want to return this dress. |
| Arazorik ez. Badu tiketa erosketarena? | — | No problem. Do you have the purchase receipt? |
| Bai, hemen dut. Arazoa tamaina da: tamainak ez zaizkit etortzen. | — | Yes, here it is. The problem is the size: the size did not fit. |
| Beste tamaina bat dugu biltegian. Aldatu nahi duzu, ala itzulketa egin nahi duzu? | — | We have another size in the stockroom. Will you exchange it or do you want a refund? |
| Aldatuko dut, mesedez, baina beste kolore batera: beltza behar dut. | — | I will exchange it, please, but for a different color: I need black. |
| Ondo. Orduan, sari-txartela erabiliko duzu hurrengo erosketan. | — | Good. Then you will use the bonus card on your next purchase. |
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 Basque in this situation?
“Egun on. Soineko hau itzuli nahi dut.” — Good afternoon. I want to return this dress.. 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.