LingoflyThe new colleague in Kazakh
Two colleagues discuss the new employee in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Жаңа (Zhaña) әріптес (Äriptes) қалай (qalai) екен (eken)?» — What's the new colleague like?; «Икемді (Ikemdi) жігіт (Zhigit), бәрімен (bärimen) тіл (Til) табысып кетті (ketti).» — An adaptable guy; he's gotten along with everyone. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues discuss the new employee. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Жақсы екен. Мақтанып сөйлейтіндерді ұнатпаймын.Zhaqsy eken. Maqtanyp söileitinderdi ūnatpaimyn.That's good. I don't like those who brag.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Жаңа (Zhaña) әріптес (Äriptes) қалай (qalai) екен (eken)? | Zhaña äriptes qalai eken? | What's the new colleague like? |
| Икемді (Ikemdi) жігіт (Zhigit), бәрімен (bärimen) тіл (Til) табысып кетті (ketti). | Ikemdi zhigit, bärimen til tabysyp ketti. | An adaptable guy; he's gotten along with everyone. |
| Жұмысы (zhūmysy) қалай (qalai)? Тәптіштегіш (Täptishtegish) пе (pe)? | Zhūmysy qalai? Täptishtegish pe? | And how does he work? Meticulous? |
| Иә (Iä), әр (Är) қатені (qateni) тексереді. Бірақ (Biraq) ешкімді (eshkimdi) жазғырмайды. | Iä, är qateni tekseredi. Biraq eshkimdi zhazğyrmaidy. | Yes, he checks every mistake. But he doesn't judge anyone. |
| Ұялшақ (Ūyalshaq) көрінеді (körinedi), жиналыста (Zhinalysta) үндемей (ündemei) отырды (otyrdy). | Ūyalshaq körinedi, zhinalysta ündemei otyrdy. | He seems shy; he kept silent at the meeting. |
| Ұялшақ (Ūyalshaq) емес (emes), тұйық (Tūiyq). Керек (Kerek) кезде (kezde) тура (Tura) айтады (aitady). | Ūyalshaq emes, tūiyq. Kerek kezde tura aitady. | He's not shy but reserved. When needed, he speaks plainly. |
| Жақсы (Zhaqsy) екен (eken). Мақтанып (maqtanyp) сөйлейтіндерді ұнатпаймын. | Zhaqsy eken. Maqtanyp söileitinderdi ūnatpaimyn. | That's good. I don't like those who brag. |
| Мен (Men) де (de). Оның (onyñ) адалдығы бірден (Birden) байқалады (baiqalady). | Men de. Onyñ adaldyğy birden baiqalady. | Neither do I. His integrity is noticeable at once. |
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?
“Жаңа (Zhaña) әріптес (Äriptes) қалай (qalai) екен (eken)?” (Zhaña äriptes qalai eken?) — What's the new colleague like? 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.