LingoflyRescheduling the meeting in Kazakh
Colleagues arrange a new time by phone in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Мына мәселе бойынша қоңырау шалып тұрмын (Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn): ертеңгі кездесу (Kezdesu).» — I'm calling about the following matter: tomorrow's meeting; «Иә, тыңдап тұрмын (Iä, tyñdap tūrmyn). Бірдеңе (Birdeñe) өзгерді (özgerdi) ме (me)?» — Yes, I'm listening. Has something changed? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: colleagues arrange a new time by phone. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn: erteñgi kezdesu.I'm calling about the following matter: tomorrow's meeting.
- Iä, tyñdap tūrmyn. Birdeñe özgerdi me?Yes, I'm listening. Has something changed?
- Өкінішке орай, кездесуді ауыстыруға тура келеді.Ökinishke orai, kezdesudi auystyruğa tura keledi.Unfortunately, the meeting will have to be rescheduled.
- Бейсенбіде түстен кейін болса, өте риза болар едім.Beisenbide tüsten keiin bolsa, öte riza bolar edim.If it could be Thursday afternoon, I would be very grateful.
- Beisenbi bola qoimas, zhinalys bar. Zhūma she?Thursday is unlikely, there's a meeting. What about Friday?
- Zhūma da zharaidy, biraq besten erte emes.Friday would work too, but not before five.
- Келістік, уақыт белгіледік. Ертең еске саламын.Kelistik, uaqyt belgiledik. Erteñ eske salamyn.Agreed, the time is set. I'll remind you tomorrow.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Мына мәселе бойынша қоңырау шалып тұрмын (Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn): ертеңгі кездесу (Kezdesu). | Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn: erteñgi kezdesu. | I'm calling about the following matter: tomorrow's meeting. |
| Иә, тыңдап тұрмын (Iä, tyñdap tūrmyn). Бірдеңе (Birdeñe) өзгерді (özgerdi) ме (me)? | Iä, tyñdap tūrmyn. Birdeñe özgerdi me? | Yes, I'm listening. Has something changed? |
| Өкінішке орай (Ökinishke orai), кездесуді (Kezdesudi) ауыстыруға (auystyruğa) тура (Tura) келеді (keledi). | Ökinishke orai, kezdesudi auystyruğa tura keledi. | Unfortunately, the meeting will have to be rescheduled. |
| Түсінікті (tüsinikti). Сізге (Sizge) қай (Qai) уақыт (uaqyt) қолайлы (qolaily)? | Tüsinikti. Sizge qai uaqyt qolaily? | I see. What time suits you? |
| Бейсенбіде (Beisenbide) түстен кейін (Tüsten keiin) болса (bolsa), өте риза болар едім (Öte riza bolar edim). | Beisenbide tüsten keiin bolsa, öte riza bolar edim. | If it could be Thursday afternoon, I would be very grateful. |
| Бейсенбі (Beisenbi) бола қоймас (Bola qoimas), жиналыс (Zhinalys) бар (Bar). Жұма (Zhūma) ше? | Beisenbi bola qoimas, zhinalys bar. Zhūma she? | Thursday is unlikely, there's a meeting. What about Friday? |
| Жұма (Zhūma) да (da) жарайды (Zharaidy), бірақ (Biraq) бестен ерте емес (Besten erte emes). | Zhūma da zharaidy, biraq besten erte emes. | Friday would work too, but not before five. |
| Келістік (kelistik), уақыт (uaqyt) белгіледік (belgiledik). Ертең (Erteñ) еске (eske) саламын (salamyn). | Kelistik, uaqyt belgiledik. Erteñ eske salamyn. | Agreed, the time is set. I'll remind you tomorrow. |
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?
“Мына мәселе бойынша қоңырау шалып тұрмын (Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn): ертеңгі кездесу (Kezdesu).” (Myna mäsele boiynsha qoñyrau shalyp tūrmyn: erteñgi kezdesu.) — I'm calling about the following matter: tomorrow's meeting. 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.