LingoflyDiscussing the numbers in Kazakh
Two people go through the figures of the monthly report in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Есепті (Esepti) қарадың (qaradyñ) ба (ba)? Шығын (Shyğyn) күрт (Kürt) өсіпті.» — Have you looked at the report? The expenses have jumped sharply; «Иә (Iä), үш еселеп (Üsh eselep) өскен. Бірақ (Biraq) табыс (Tabys) бұрынғы (Būrynğy) қалпында (qalpynda) қалды (qaldy).» — Yes, they've tripled. But the income has stayed the same. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people go through the figures of the monthly report. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Материал бағасы көтерілгеннен бе?Material bağasy köterilgennen be?Because the price of the material has gone up?
- Sonyñ da ülesi bar. Zhalpy sany zhüz myñğa zhetti.That's part of it. The total has reached a hundred thousand.
- Жарайды. Үштен бірі жеткізуге кеткен екен.Zharaidy. Üshten biri zhetkizuge ketken eken.Fine. A third, it turns out, went to delivery.
- Onda kelesi aida köterme saudamen alaiyq.Then next month let's buy wholesale.
- Келістік. Ақшаны артығымен есептеп қояйын.Kelistik. Aqshany artyğymen eseptep qoyaiyn.Agreed. I'll count the money with a margin.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Есепті (Esepti) қарадың (qaradyñ) ба (ba)? Шығын (Shyğyn) күрт (Kürt) өсіпті. | Esepti qaradyñ ba? Shyğyn kürt ösipti. | Have you looked at the report? The expenses have jumped sharply. |
| Иә (Iä), үш еселеп (Üsh eselep) өскен. Бірақ (Biraq) табыс (Tabys) бұрынғы (Būrynğy) қалпында (qalpynda) қалды (qaldy). | Iä, üsh eselep ösken. Biraq tabys būrynğy qalpynda qaldy. | Yes, they've tripled. But the income has stayed the same. |
| Материал бағасы (Bağasy) көтерілгеннен бе (be)? | Material bağasy köterilgennen be? | Because the price of the material has gone up? |
| Соның (sonyñ) да (da) үлесі (ülesi) бар (Bar). Жалпы саны (Zhalpy sany) жүз (Zhüz) мыңға жетті (zhetti). | Sonyñ da ülesi bar. Zhalpy sany zhüz myñğa zhetti. | That's part of it. The total has reached a hundred thousand. |
| Соманы (Somany) жүзге (zhüzge) дейін (deiin) дөңгелектеп, кестеге (Kestege) қой (Qoi). | Somany zhüzge deiin döñgelektep, kestege qoi. | Round the sum to a hundred and enter it into the table. |
| Жарайды (Zharaidy). Үштен (üshten) бірі (biri) жеткізуге кеткен (ketken) екен (eken). | Zharaidy. Üshten biri zhetkizuge ketken eken. | Fine. A third, it turns out, went to delivery. |
| Онда (Onda) келесі айда (Kelesi aida) көтерме саудамен (Köterme saudamen) алайық (alaiyq). | Onda kelesi aida köterme saudamen alaiyq. | Then next month let's buy wholesale. |
| Келістік (kelistik). Ақшаны (aqshany) артығымен (Artyğymen) есептеп қояйын. | Kelistik. Aqshany artyğymen eseptep qoyaiyn. | Agreed. I'll count the money with a margin. |
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?
“Есепті (Esepti) қарадың (qaradyñ) ба (ba)? Шығын (Shyğyn) күрт (Kürt) өсіпті.” (Esepti qaradyñ ba? Shyğyn kürt ösipti.) — Have you looked at the report? The expenses have jumped sharply. 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.