LingoflyBefore the match in Kazakh
Two people arranging to go to a football game in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Бүгін (Bügin) стадионға (Stadionğa) барасың (barasyñ) ба (ba)?» — Are you going to the stadium today?; «Барғым (barğym) келеді (keledi), бірақ (Biraq) билет (Bilet) қалды (qaldy) ма (ma) екен (eken)?» — I'd like to go, but are there any tickets left? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people arranging to go to a football game. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Өткен аптада ұтылдық қой, ұмыттың ба?Ötken aptada ūtyldyq qoi, ūmyttyñ ba?We lost last week, remember?
- Жарайды. Кешіксем, қоңырау шаламын.Zharaidy. Keshiksem, qoñyrau shalamyn.OK. If I'm late, I'll call.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Бүгін (Bügin) стадионға (Stadionğa) барасың (barasyñ) ба (ba)? | Bügin stadionğa barasyñ ba? | Are you going to the stadium today? |
| Барғым (barğym) келеді (keledi), бірақ (Biraq) билет (Bilet) қалды (qaldy) ма (ma) екен (eken)? | Barğym keledi, biraq bilet qaldy ma eken? | I'd like to go, but are there any tickets left? |
| Қосымшадан екеуін (Ekeuin) жүктеп (zhüktep) алдым (aldym). | Qosymshadan ekeuin zhüktep aldym. | I've downloaded two in the app. |
| Тамаша (tamasha)! Біздің (bizdiñ) команда (Komanda) жеңеді (zheñedi) деп (dep) ойлаймын (oilaimyn). | Tamasha! Bizdiñ komanda zheñedi dep oilaimyn. | Great! I think our team will win. |
| Өткен аптада (Ötken aptada) ұтылдық (ūtyldyq) қой (Qoi), ұмыттың ба (ba)? | Ötken aptada ūtyldyq qoi, ūmyttyñ ba? | We lost last week, remember? |
| Есімде. Бірақ (Biraq) жаңа (Zhaña) ойыншы (Oiynshy) келді (keldi). | Esimde. Biraq zhaña oiynshy keldi. | I remember. But a new player has joined. |
| Онда (Onda) аялдамада (ayaldamada) сағат (Sağat) алтыда (altyda) кездесейік (kezdeseiik). | Onda ayaldamada sağat altyda kezdeseiik. | Then let's meet at the bus stop at six. |
| Жарайды (Zharaidy). Кешіксем, қоңырау (Qoñyrau) шаламын (shalamyn). | Zharaidy. Keshiksem, qoñyrau shalamyn. | OK. If I'm late, I'll call. |
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?
“Бүгін (Bügin) стадионға (Stadionğa) барасың (barasyñ) ба (ba)?” (Bügin stadionğa barasyñ ba?) — Are you going to the stadium today? 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.