Mailegu bat bankuan in Basque
A talk at the bank: asking for a loan for my own business in Basque. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Egun on. Mailegu bat eskatu nahi nuen negozio txiki baterako.» — Good afternoon. I would like to request a loan for a small business.; «Ongi etorri. Zenbat diru behar duzu eta zein eperako?» — Welcome. How much money do you need and for how long? 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: a talk at the bank: asking for a loan for my own business. 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. Mailegu bat eskatu nahi nuen negozio txiki baterako.Good afternoon. I would like to request a loan for a small business.
- Ongi etorri. Zenbat diru behar duzu eta zein eperako?Welcome. How much money do you need and for how long?
- Hamabost mila euro, bi urterako. Denda bat zabaldu nahi dut herriaren erdian.Fifteen thousand euros for two years. I want to open a shop in the center of the town.
- Baldintzak azalduko dizkizut: hilabetero kuota bat ordaindu behar duzu, interesekin batera.I will explain the conditions to you: you have to pay an installment every month, with the interest.
- Interesak handiak al dira? Ez nuke nahi zordun geratzea.Is the interest big? I would not like to stay in debt.
- Lehen urtean baxuak dira; gero kontratuaren arabera igotzen dira. Dena idatziz emango dizugu.In the first year they are low; then they grow according to the contract. We will give you everything in writing.
Lines one by one
| Basque | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Egun on. Mailegu bat eskatu nahi nuen negozio txiki baterako. | — | Good afternoon. I would like to request a loan for a small business. |
| Ongi etorri. Zenbat diru behar duzu eta zein eperako? | — | Welcome. How much money do you need and for how long? |
| Hamabost mila euro, bi urterako. Denda bat zabaldu nahi dut herriaren erdian. | — | Fifteen thousand euros for two years. I want to open a shop in the center of the town. |
| Baldintzak azalduko dizkizut: hilabetero kuota bat ordaindu behar duzu, interesekin batera. | — | I will explain the conditions to you: you have to pay an installment every month, with the interest. |
| Interesak handiak al dira? Ez nuke nahi zordun geratzea. | — | Is the interest big? I would not like to stay in debt. |
| Lehen urtean baxuak dira; gero kontratuaren arabera igotzen dira. Dena idatziz emango dizugu. | — | In the first year they are low; then they grow according to the contract. We will give you everything in writing. |
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. Mailegu bat eskatu nahi nuen negozio txiki baterako.” — Good afternoon. I would like to request a loan for a small business.. 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.