LingoflyAt the admissions office in Kazakh
An applicant finds out what is needed to enroll in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), университетке түсу (Universitetke tüsu) туралы (turaly) сұрағым (sūrağym) бар (Bar).» — Hello, I have a question about applying to the university; «Тыңдап тұрмын (Tyñdap tūrmyn). Қай (Qai) мамандық (Mamandyq) қызықтырады?» — I'm listening. Which major interests you? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an applicant finds out what is needed to enroll. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Sälemetsiz be, universitetke tüsu turaly sūrağym bar.Hello, I have a question about applying to the university.
- Тыңдап тұрмын. Қай мамандық қызықтырады?Tyñdap tūrmyn. Qai mamandyq qyzyqtyrady?I'm listening. Which major interests you?
- Attestat, sertifikat zhäne meditsinalyq anyqtama.A school certificate, a certificate and a medical reference.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), университетке түсу (Universitetke tüsu) туралы (turaly) сұрағым (sūrağym) бар (Bar). | Sälemetsiz be, universitetke tüsu turaly sūrağym bar. | Hello, I have a question about applying to the university. |
| Тыңдап тұрмын (Tyñdap tūrmyn). Қай (Qai) мамандық (Mamandyq) қызықтырады? | Tyñdap tūrmyn. Qai mamandyq qyzyqtyrady? | I'm listening. Which major interests you? |
| Экономика (Ekonomika) факультеті. Ұпайым сексен (Seksen) бес (Bes). | Ekonomika fakulteti. Ūpaiym seksen bes. | The economics faculty. I have eighty-five points. |
| Жақсы (Zhaqsy) ұпай (Ūpai). Шәкіртақыға да (da) үміт (ümit) бар (Bar). | Zhaqsy ūpai. Shäkirtaqyğa da ümit bar. | A good score. There is hope for a scholarship too. |
| Жатақхана (Zhataqkhana) бере (bere) ме (me)? Мен (Men) басқа (Basqa) қаладанмын. | Zhataqkhana bere me? Men basqa qaladanmyn. | Is there a dormitory? I'm from another city. |
| Береді (beredi), бірақ (Biraq) орын (oryn) аз (Az). Өтінімді (Ötinimdi) ерте (erte) беріңіз (beriñiz). | Beredi, biraq oryn az. Ötinimdi erte beriñiz. | They do, but there are few places. Apply early. |
| Қандай (Qandai) құжат (qūzhat) керек (Kerek) екенін (ekenin) айтып (aityp) берсеңіз. | Qandai qūzhat kerek ekenin aityp berseñiz. | Please tell me which documents are needed. |
| Аттестат (attestat), сертификат (Sertifikat) және (Zhäne) медициналық (meditsinalyq) анықтама (Anyqtama). | Attestat, sertifikat zhäne meditsinalyq anyqtama. | A school certificate, a certificate and a medical reference. |
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), университетке түсу (Universitetke tüsu) туралы (turaly) сұрағым (sūrağym) бар (Bar).” (Sälemetsiz be, universitetke tüsu turaly sūrağym bar.) — Hello, I have a question about applying to the university. 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.