LingoflyIn the fitting room in Kazakh
A clothes shop in a mall, a customer and a salesperson in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Кешіріңіз (Keshiriñiz), мына (Myna) жейде (Zheide) қандай (Qandai) өлшемдері бар (Bar)?» — Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in?; «Барлығы (Barlyğy) бар (Bar). Өлшеміңіз қандай?» (Ölshemiñiz qandai) — We have them all. What is your size? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a clothes shop in a mall, a customer and a salesperson. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ärine. Kiim ölsheitin bölme anda, oñ zhaqta.Of course. The fitting room is over there, on the right.
- Mine, bir ölshem kishi. Ashyq tüsti de bar.Here, one size smaller. There is a light one too.
- Mynanyñ ölshemi däl keledi. Qoñyr tüstisi bar ma?This one fits. Is there a brown one?
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Кешіріңіз (Keshiriñiz), мына (Myna) жейде (Zheide) қандай (Qandai) өлшемдері бар (Bar)? | Keshiriñiz, myna zheide qandai ölshemderi bar? | Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in? |
| Барлығы (Barlyğy) бар (Bar). Өлшеміңіз қандай? (Ölshemiñiz qandai) | Barlyğy bar. Ölshemiñiz qandai? | We have them all. What is your size? |
| Білмеймін (Bilmeimin). Киіп көруге бола ма? (Kiip köruge bola ma) | Bilmeimin. Kiip köruge bola ma? | I don't know. May I try it on? |
| Әрине (Ärine). Киім өлшейтін бөлме (Kiim ölsheitin bölme) анда (Anda), оң жақта (oñ zhaqta). | Ärine. Kiim ölsheitin bölme anda, oñ zhaqta. | Of course. The fitting room is over there, on the right. |
| Бұл (būl) тым үлкен (Tym ülken) болып (bolyp) тұр (tūr). Кішірек бар (Bar) ма (ma)? | Būl tym ülken bolyp tūr. Kishirek bar ma? | This one is too big. Is there a smaller one? |
| Міне, бір (Bir) өлшем (Ölshem) кіші. Ашық түсті (Ashyq tüsti) де (de) бар (Bar). | Mine, bir ölshem kishi. Ashyq tüsti de bar. | Here, one size smaller. There is a light one too. |
| Мынаның өлшемі дәл келеді (Ölshemi däl keledi). Қоңыр (Qoñyr) түстісі бар (Bar) ма (ma)? | Mynanyñ ölshemi däl keledi. Qoñyr tüstisi bar ma? | This one fits. Is there a brown one? |
| Бар (Bar), бірақ (Biraq) тек (tek) ұзын (Ūzyn) жеңдісі. Әкеліп берейін (bereiin) бе (be)? | Bar, biraq tek ūzyn zheñdisi. Äkelip bereiin be? | There is, but only with long sleeves. Shall I bring it? |
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?
“Кешіріңіз (Keshiriñiz), мына (Myna) жейде (Zheide) қандай (Qandai) өлшемдері бар (Bar)?” (Keshiriñiz, myna zheide qandai ölshemderi bar?) — Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in? 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.