LingoflyA bad connection in Kazakh
A phone call where you have to keep asking again in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Алло, бір минут уақытыңыз бар ма?» (Bir minut uaqytyñyz bar ma) — Hello, do you have a minute?; «Кешіріңіз, естімей қалдым (Keshiriñiz, estimei qaldym). Не дедіңіз?» (Ne dediñiz) — I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call where you have to keep asking again. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Keshiriñiz, estimei qaldym. Ne dediñiz?I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?
- Байланыс нашар екен. Құжат туралы айтайын дегенмін.Bailanys nashar eken. Qūzhat turaly aitaiyn degenmin.The connection turns out to be bad. I wanted to talk about the document.
- Dūrys tüsindim be, qūzhat äli daiyn emes pe?Did I understand correctly, the document is not ready yet?
- Däl solai. Bir minut, tüsindirip bereiin.Exactly. One minute, I'll explain.
- Атын әріптеп айтыңызшы, жазып алайын.Atyn äriptep aityñyzshy, zhazyp alaiyn.Spell the name out for me, I'll write it down.
- Zhaqsy. Qiyn bolmasa, keiin qaita khabarlasaiyn.All right. If it's not too much trouble, I'll call back later.
- Äñgimeleskenimiz zhaqsy boldy. Bailanysta bolaiyq.It was nice talking to you. Talk soon.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Алло, бір минут уақытыңыз бар ма? (Bir minut uaqytyñyz bar ma) | Allo, bir minut uaqytyñyz bar ma? | Hello, do you have a minute? |
| Кешіріңіз, естімей қалдым (Keshiriñiz, estimei qaldym). Не дедіңіз? (Ne dediñiz) | Keshiriñiz, estimei qaldym. Ne dediñiz? | I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say? |
| Байланыс (bailanys) нашар (nashar) екен (eken). Құжат (qūzhat) туралы (turaly) айтайын (Aitaiyn) дегенмін. | Bailanys nashar eken. Qūzhat turaly aitaiyn degenmin. | The connection turns out to be bad. I wanted to talk about the document. |
| Дұрыс түсіндім бе (Dūrys tüsindim be), құжат (qūzhat) әлі (äli) дайын (daiyn) емес (emes) пе (pe)? | Dūrys tüsindim be, qūzhat äli daiyn emes pe? | Did I understand correctly, the document is not ready yet? |
| Дәл солай (Däl solai). Бір минут, түсіндіріп берейін (Bir minut, tüsindirip bereiin). | Däl solai. Bir minut, tüsindirip bereiin. | Exactly. One minute, I'll explain. |
| Атын (Atyn) әріптеп айтыңызшы (Äriptep aityñyzshy), жазып (zhazyp) алайын (alaiyn). | Atyn äriptep aityñyzshy, zhazyp alaiyn. | Spell the name out for me, I'll write it down. |
| Жақсы (Zhaqsy). Қиын болмаса (Qiyn bolmasa), кейін (keiin) қайта (qaita) хабарласайын. | Zhaqsy. Qiyn bolmasa, keiin qaita khabarlasaiyn. | All right. If it's not too much trouble, I'll call back later. |
| Әңгімелескеніміз жақсы болды (Äñgimeleskenimiz zhaqsy boldy). Байланыста болайық (Bailanysta bolaiyq). | Äñgimeleskenimiz zhaqsy boldy. Bailanysta bolaiyq. | It was nice talking to you. Talk soon. |
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?
“Алло, бір минут уақытыңыз бар ма?” (Bir minut uaqytyñyz bar ma) (Allo, bir minut uaqytyñyz bar ma?) — Hello, do you have a minute? 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.