LingoflyWhen will the repair be done? in Kazakh
The flat owner calls the foreman in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), жөндеу (Zhöndeu) қалай (qalai) жүріп (zhürip) жатыр (zhatyr)?» — Hello, how is the repair going?; «Кешіріңіз (Keshiriñiz), жұмыс (Zhūmys) сәл (säl) созылып (sozylyp) кетті (ketti).» — Sorry, the work has dragged on a bit. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the flat owner calls the foreman. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Sälemetsiz be, zhöndeu qalai zhürip zhatyr?Hello, how is the repair going?
- Sebebi nede? Kesteden artta qalushylyq körinip tūr.What's the reason? One can see the lag behind the schedule.
- Түсінемін, бірақ мерзімді тағы кейінге созбаңыз.Tüsinemin, biraq merzimdi tağy keiinge sozbañyz.I understand, but don't put off the deadline again.
- Уәде беремін. Ақауды жойдық, енді ретке келтіреміз.Uäde beremin. Aqaudy zhoidyq, endi retke keltiremiz.I promise. We've fixed the defect; now we'll put everything in order.
- Бәрі ережеге сай жасалсын, тексеретін боламын.Bäri erezhege sai zhasalsyn, tekseretin bolamyn.Let them do everything by the rules; I'll be checking.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), жөндеу (Zhöndeu) қалай (qalai) жүріп (zhürip) жатыр (zhatyr)? | Sälemetsiz be, zhöndeu qalai zhürip zhatyr? | Hello, how is the repair going? |
| Кешіріңіз (Keshiriñiz), жұмыс (Zhūmys) сәл (säl) созылып (sozylyp) кетті (ketti). | Keshiriñiz, zhūmys säl sozylyp ketti. | Sorry, the work has dragged on a bit. |
| Себебі (Sebebi) неде (nede)? Кестеден (Kesteden) артта қалушылық (Artta qalushylyq) көрініп (körinip) тұр (tūr). | Sebebi nede? Kesteden artta qalushylyq körinip tūr. | What's the reason? One can see the lag behind the schedule. |
| Материал кеш (Kesh) келді (keldi), сосын (Sosyn) жүйеде (Zhüiede) іркіліс (Irkilis) болды (boldy). | Material kesh keldi, sosyn zhüiede irkilis boldy. | The material came late, and then there was a glitch in the system. |
| Түсінемін (tüsinemin), бірақ (Biraq) мерзімді (merzimdi) тағы (Tağy) кейінге (keiinge) созбаңыз. | Tüsinemin, biraq merzimdi tağy keiinge sozbañyz. | I understand, but don't put off the deadline again. |
| Уәде (uäde) беремін (beremin). Ақауды (Aqaudy) жойдық, енді (endi) ретке (retke) келтіреміз. | Uäde beremin. Aqaudy zhoidyq, endi retke keltiremiz. | I promise. We've fixed the defect; now we'll put everything in order. |
| Бәрі (Bäri) ережеге сай (Erezhege sai) жасалсын, тексеретін (tekseretin) боламын (bolamyn). | Bäri erezhege sai zhasalsyn, tekseretin bolamyn. | Let them do everything by the rules; I'll be checking. |
| Әрине (Ärine). Жұманы аяқтаймыз (ayaqtaimyz), қол (Qol) сілтемейміз. | Ärine. Zhūmany ayaqtaimyz, qol siltemeimiz. | Of course. We'll finish by Friday; we won't drop it halfway. |
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), жөндеу (Zhöndeu) қалай (qalai) жүріп (zhürip) жатыр (zhatyr)?” (Sälemetsiz be, zhöndeu qalai zhürip zhatyr?) — Hello, how is the repair going? 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.