LingoflyAbout work in Kazakh
A chat with a new colleague at the office in Kazakh. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Мамандығыңыз қандай?» (Mamandyğyñyz qandai) — What is your profession?; «Мен (Men) бағдарламашымын. Сіз (Siz) ше?» — I'm a programmer. And you? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a chat with a new colleague at the office. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Қызық. Кеңседе күнде боласыз ба?Qyzyq. Keñsede künde bolasyz ba?Interesting. Are you in the office every day?
- Жоқ, бейсенбіде қашықтан жұмыс істеймін.Zhoq, beisenbide qashyqtan zhūmys isteimin.No, on Thursdays I work remotely.
- Шілдеде. Бастықпен сөйлесіп қойдым.Shildede. Bastyqpen söilesip qoidym.In July. I've already talked to the boss.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Мамандығыңыз қандай? (Mamandyğyñyz qandai) | Mamandyğyñyz qandai? | What is your profession? |
| Мен (Men) бағдарламашымын. Сіз (Siz) ше? | Men bağdarlamashymyn. Siz she? | I'm a programmer. And you? |
| Мен (Men) мұғаліммін, мектепте (mektepte) сабақ (Sabaq) беремін (beremin). | Men mūğalimmin, mektepte sabaq beremin. | I'm a teacher, I teach at school. |
| Қызық (Qyzyq). Кеңседе (keñsede) күнде (künde) боласыз ба (ba)? | Qyzyq. Keñsede künde bolasyz ba? | Interesting. Are you in the office every day? |
| Жоқ (Zhoq), бейсенбіде (Beisenbide) қашықтан жұмыс істеймін (Qashyqtan zhūmys isteimin). | Zhoq, beisenbide qashyqtan zhūmys isteimin. | No, on Thursdays I work remotely. |
| Жақсы (Zhaqsy) екен (eken). Демалыс (Demalys) қашан (qashan)? | Zhaqsy eken. Demalys qashan? | Nice. When is your vacation? |
| Шілдеде (shildede). Бастықпен сөйлесіп қойдым (qoidym). | Shildede. Bastyqpen söilesip qoidym. | In July. I've already talked to the boss. |
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?
“Мамандығыңыз қандай?” (Mamandyğyñyz qandai?) — What is your profession? 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.