LingoflyAt the pharmacy in Kazakh
The late-night pharmacy in the evening in Kazakh. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Қайырлы кеш (Qaiyrly kesh). Басым ауырады (Basym auyrady), дәрі (Däri) бар (Bar) ма (ma)?» — Good evening. I have a headache, do you have any medicine?; «Бар (Bar). Қызуыңыз бар (Bar) ма (ma)?» — We do. Do you have a fever? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the late-night pharmacy in the evening. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Qaiyrly kesh. Basym auyrady, däri bar ma?Good evening. I have a headache, do you have any medicine?
- Zhoq, biraq tamağym auyrady zhäne zhötelemin.No, but my throat hurts and I'm coughing.
- Myna tabletkany alyñyz. Künine eki ret, tamaqtan keiin.Take these pills. Twice a day, after meals.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Қайырлы кеш (Qaiyrly kesh). Басым ауырады (Basym auyrady), дәрі (Däri) бар (Bar) ма (ma)? | Qaiyrly kesh. Basym auyrady, däri bar ma? | Good evening. I have a headache, do you have any medicine? |
| Бар (Bar). Қызуыңыз бар (Bar) ма (ma)? | Bar. Qyzuyñyz bar ma? | We do. Do you have a fever? |
| Жоқ (Zhoq), бірақ (Biraq) тамағым ауырады (Tamağym auyrady) және (Zhäne) жөтелемін. | Zhoq, biraq tamağym auyrady zhäne zhötelemin. | No, but my throat hurts and I'm coughing. |
| Мына (Myna) таблетканы алыңыз (alyñyz). Күніне екі рет (Künine eki ret), тамақтан кейін (Tamaqtan keiin). | Myna tabletkany alyñyz. Künine eki ret, tamaqtan keiin. | Take these pills. Twice a day, after meals. |
| Рецептсіз (Retseptsiz) бола (bola) ма (ma)? | Retseptsiz bola ma? | Is it over the counter? |
| Иә (Iä), рецептсіз (Retseptsiz). Барлығы (Barlyğy) бір (Bir) мың (Myñ) теңге (Teñge). | Iä, retseptsiz. Barlyğy bir myñ teñge. | Yes, over the counter. One thousand tenge in total. |
| Міне. Рақмет (Raqmet), сау болыңыз (Sau bolyñyz)! | Mine. Raqmet, sau bolyñyz! | Here you are. Thank you, goodbye! |
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?
“Қайырлы кеш (Qaiyrly kesh). Басым ауырады (Basym auyrady), дәрі (Däri) бар (Bar) ма (ma)?” (Qaiyrly kesh. Basym auyrady, däri bar ma?) — Good evening. I have a headache, do you have any medicine? 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.