In the fitting room in Kazakh
A clothes shop in a mall, a customer and a salesperson in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Кешіріңіз, мына жейде қандай өлшемдері бар?» — Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in?; «Барлығы бар. Өлшеміңіз қандай?» — We have them all. What is your size? Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a clothes shop in a mall, a customer and a salesperson. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Кешіріңіз, мына жейде қандай өлшемдері бар?Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in?
- Барлығы бар. Өлшеміңіз қандай?We have them all. What is your size?
- Білмеймін. Киіп көруге бола ма?I don't know. May I try it on?
- Әрине. Киім өлшейтін бөлме анда, оң жақта.Of course. The fitting room is over there, on the right.
- Бұл тым үлкен болып тұр. Кішірек бар ма?This one is too big. Is there a smaller one?
- Міне, бір өлшем кіші. Ашық түсті де бар.Here, one size smaller. There is a light one too.
- Мынаның өлшемі дәл келеді. Қоңыр түстісі бар ма?This one fits. Is there a brown one?
- Бар, бірақ тек ұзын жеңдісі. Әкеліп берейін бе?There is, but only with long sleeves. Shall I bring it?
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Кешіріңіз, мына жейде қандай өлшемдері бар? | — | Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in? |
| Барлығы бар. Өлшеміңіз қандай? | — | We have them all. What is your size? |
| Білмеймін. Киіп көруге бола ма? | — | I don't know. May I try it on? |
| Әрине. Киім өлшейтін бөлме анда, оң жақта. | — | Of course. The fitting room is over there, on the right. |
| Бұл тым үлкен болып тұр. Кішірек бар ма? | — | This one is too big. Is there a smaller one? |
| Міне, бір өлшем кіші. Ашық түсті де бар. | — | Here, one size smaller. There is a light one too. |
| Мынаның өлшемі дәл келеді. Қоңыр түстісі бар ма? | — | This one fits. Is there a brown one? |
| Бар, бірақ тек ұзын жеңдісі. Әкеліп берейін бе? | — | There is, but only with long sleeves. Shall I bring it? |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“Кешіріңіз, мына жейде қандай өлшемдері бар?” — Excuse me, what sizes does this shirt come in?. 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.