LingoflyGetting a job in Kazakh
An interview at a small firm in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Кіріңіз (kiriñiz), отырыңыз (otyryñyz). Түйіндемеңізді оқыдым (oqydym).» — Come in, have a seat. I've read your resume; «Рахмет (rakhmet). Мен (Men) бес (Bes) жыл (Zhyl) бухгалтер (Bukhgalter) болып (bolyp) істедім (istedim).» — Thank you. I worked as an accountant for five years. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an interview at a small firm. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Кіріңіз, отырыңыз. Түйіндемеңізді оқыдым.Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Tüiindemeñizdi oqydym.Come in, have a seat. I've read your resume.
- Tüsindim. Mūnda aptasyna bir ret prezentatsiya zhasau kerek.I see. Here you have to give a presentation once a week.
- Mäsele emes. Men prezentatsiya daiyndaudy ūnatamyn.Not a problem. I enjoy preparing presentations.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Кіріңіз (kiriñiz), отырыңыз (otyryñyz). Түйіндемеңізді оқыдым (oqydym). | Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Tüiindemeñizdi oqydym. | Come in, have a seat. I've read your resume. |
| Рахмет (rakhmet). Мен (Men) бес (Bes) жыл (Zhyl) бухгалтер (Bukhgalter) болып (bolyp) істедім (istedim). | Rakhmet. Men bes zhyl bukhgalter bolyp istedim. | Thank you. I worked as an accountant for five years. |
| Неге (Nege) жұмыс (Zhūmys) ауыстырғыңыз келеді (keledi)? | Nege zhūmys auystyrğyñyz keledi? | Why do you want to change jobs? |
| Ескі (Eski) компания (Kompaniya) банкрот (bankrot) болды (boldy). Дағдарыс бәріне тиді (Dağdarys bärine tidi). | Eski kompaniya bankrot boldy. Dağdarys bärine tidi. | The old company went bankrupt. The crisis hit everyone. |
| Түсіндім (tüsindim). Мұнда (Mūnda) аптасына (aptasyna) бір (Bir) рет (ret) презентация (Prezentatsiya) жасау керек (Kerek). | Tüsindim. Mūnda aptasyna bir ret prezentatsiya zhasau kerek. | I see. Here you have to give a presentation once a week. |
| Мәселе (mäsele) емес (emes). Мен (Men) презентация (Prezentatsiya) дайындауды ұнатамын. | Mäsele emes. Men prezentatsiya daiyndaudy ūnatamyn. | Not a problem. I enjoy preparing presentations. |
| Жақсы (Zhaqsy). Ең (eñ) төменгі (tömengi) жалақыдан (zhalaqydan) жоғары (Zhoğary) сома (Soma) ұсынамыз, сынақ мерзімі (Synaq merzimi) екі (Eki) ай (Ai). | Zhaqsy. Eñ tömengi zhalaqydan zhoğary soma ūsynamyz, synaq merzimi eki ai. | Good. We offer a sum above the minimum wage, with a two-month probation period. |
| Аванс (Avans) мүмкіндігі (mümkindigi) бар (Bar) ма (ma)? Шешімді (sheshimdi) жазбаша (Zhazbasha) хабарлаңыз. | Avans mümkindigi bar ma? Sheshimdi zhazbasha khabarlañyz. | Is there a possibility of an advance? Please inform me of the decision in writing. |
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?
“Кіріңіз (kiriñiz), отырыңыз (otyryñyz). Түйіндемеңізді оқыдым (oqydym).” (Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Tüiindemeñizdi oqydym.) — Come in, have a seat. I've read your resume. 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.