LingoflyCalling a repairman in Kazakh
Calling the landlord: the bathroom faucet is leaking in Kazakh. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), мен (Men) пәтерді (Päterdi) жалдап тұрмын (tūrmyn). Кран ағып тұр (kran ağyp tūr).» — Hello, I rent this flat. The faucet is leaking; «Қашан (qashan) бұзылып қалды (Būzylyp qaldy)?» — When did it break? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: calling the landlord: the bathroom faucet is leaking. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Sälemetsiz be, men päterdi zhaldap tūrmyn. Kran ağyp tūr.Hello, I rent this flat. The faucet is leaking.
- Түсінікті. Бүгін шебер шақырамын.Tüsinikti. Bügin sheber shaqyramyn.I see. I'll call a repairman today.
- Iä, bolamyn. Bäri retimen, küte tūramyn.Yes, I will. Everything is fine, I'll wait.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), мен (Men) пәтерді (Päterdi) жалдап тұрмын (tūrmyn). Кран ағып тұр (kran ağyp tūr). | Sälemetsiz be, men päterdi zhaldap tūrmyn. Kran ağyp tūr. | Hello, I rent this flat. The faucet is leaking. |
| Қашан (qashan) бұзылып қалды (Būzylyp qaldy)? | Qashan būzylyp qaldy? | When did it break? |
| Кеше (Keshe) кешке (keshke). Ыстық су (Ystyq su) да (da) жоқ (Zhoq). | Keshe keshke. Ystyq su da zhoq. | Yesterday evening. There's no hot water either. |
| Түсінікті (tüsinikti). Бүгін (Bügin) шебер (Sheber) шақырамын (shaqyramyn). | Tüsinikti. Bügin sheber shaqyramyn. | I see. I'll call a repairman today. |
| Рақмет (Raqmet). Ол (Ol) қашан (qashan) келеді (keledi)? | Raqmet. Ol qashan keledi? | Thank you. When will he come? |
| Кешке (keshke), сағат (Sağat) алтыда (altyda). Үйде (üide) боласыз ба (ba)? | Keshke, sağat altyda. Üide bolasyz ba? | In the evening, at six o'clock. Will you be home? |
| Иә (Iä), боламын (bolamyn). Бәрі ретімен (Bäri retimen), күте (küte) тұрамын (tūramyn). | Iä, bolamyn. Bäri retimen, küte tūramyn. | Yes, I will. Everything is fine, I'll wait. |
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 Kazakh in this situation?
“Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), мен (Men) пәтерді (Päterdi) жалдап тұрмын (tūrmyn). Кран ағып тұр (kran ağyp tūr).” (Sälemetsiz be, men päterdi zhaldap tūrmyn. Kran ağyp tūr.) — Hello, I rent this flat. The faucet is leaking. 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.