LingoflyA talk at the doctor's in Kazakh
A doctor's appointment, complaints and an examination in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Кіріңіз (kiriñiz), отырыңыз (otyryñyz). Не (Ne) мазалап жүр (zhür)?» — Come in, have a seat. What is bothering you?; «Бір (Bir) аптадан (aptadan) бері (beri) арқам ауырады (Arqam auyrady), түнде (tünde) ұйықтай алмаймын (almaimyn).» — My back has been hurting for a week now; at night I can't sleep. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a doctor's appointment, complaints and an examination. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Кіріңіз, отырыңыз. Не мазалап жүр?Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Ne mazalap zhür?Come in, have a seat. What is bothering you?
- Bir aptadan beri arqam auyrady, tünde ūiyqtai almaimyn.My back has been hurting for a week now; at night I can't sleep.
- Ūiqysyzdyq qashan bastaldy? Küizelis bar ma?When did the insomnia start? Is there stress?
- Zhūmysta köp. Auru basatyn däri ishtim, biraq kömektespedi.There's a lot at work. I took a painkiller, but it didn't help.
- Ауруханаға жату керек пе? Жұмыстан қалғым келмейді.Aurukhanağa zhatu kerek pe? Zhūmystan qalğym kelmeidi.Do I need to be hospitalized? I don't want to miss work.
- Түсіндім. Жанама әсері бар дәріні жазбаңызшы, асқазаным нашар.Tüsindim. Zhanama äseri bar därini zhazbañyzshy, asqazanym nashar.Understood. Please don't prescribe a medicine with side effects; my stomach is bad.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Кіріңіз (kiriñiz), отырыңыз (otyryñyz). Не (Ne) мазалап жүр (zhür)? | Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Ne mazalap zhür? | Come in, have a seat. What is bothering you? |
| Бір (Bir) аптадан (aptadan) бері (beri) арқам ауырады (Arqam auyrady), түнде (tünde) ұйықтай алмаймын (almaimyn). | Bir aptadan beri arqam auyrady, tünde ūiyqtai almaimyn. | My back has been hurting for a week now; at night I can't sleep. |
| Ұйқысыздық (Ūiqysyzdyq) қашан (qashan) басталды (bastaldy)? Күйзеліс (Küizelis) бар (Bar) ма (ma)? | Ūiqysyzdyq qashan bastaldy? Küizelis bar ma? | When did the insomnia start? Is there stress? |
| Жұмыста (zhūmysta) көп (Köp). Ауру басатын дәрі (Auru basatyn däri) іштім (ishtim), бірақ (Biraq) көмектеспеді. | Zhūmysta köp. Auru basatyn däri ishtim, biraq kömektespedi. | There's a lot at work. I took a painkiller, but it didn't help. |
| Сізді (sizdi) рентгенге (rentgenge) жіберемін (zhiberemin). Медициналық (meditsinalyq) тексеруден (tekseruden) өткен (Ötken) соң (soñ), диагноз (Diagnoz) қоямыз (qoyamyz). | Sizdi rentgenge zhiberemin. Meditsinalyq tekseruden ötken soñ, diagnoz qoyamyz. | I'll refer you for an X-ray. After the examination we'll make a diagnosis. |
| Ауруханаға жату (Aurukhanağa zhatu) керек (Kerek) пе (pe)? Жұмыстан (zhūmystan) қалғым келмейді (kelmeidi). | Aurukhanağa zhatu kerek pe? Zhūmystan qalğym kelmeidi. | Do I need to be hospitalized? I don't want to miss work. |
| Сірә (Sirä), керек (Kerek) болмайды (bolmaidy). Бірақ (Biraq) ауыр (Auyr) зат (zat) көтеруден аулақ (aulaq) болыңыз (bolyñyz). | Sirä, kerek bolmaidy. Biraq auyr zat köteruden aulaq bolyñyz. | Most likely it won't be necessary. But avoid lifting heavy things. |
| Түсіндім (tüsindim). Жанама (zhanama) әсері (äseri) бар (Bar) дәріні (Därini) жазбаңызшы, асқазаным (Asqazanym) нашар (nashar). | Tüsindim. Zhanama äseri bar därini zhazbañyzshy, asqazanym nashar. | Understood. Please don't prescribe a medicine with side effects; my stomach is bad. |
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). Не (Ne) мазалап жүр (zhür)?” (Kiriñiz, otyryñyz. Ne mazalap zhür?) — Come in, have a seat. What is bothering you? 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.