Calling a repairman in Russian
A call to the repair service: a leaking pipe in the kitchen in Russian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Здравствуйте! У меня протекает труба на кухне.» — Hello! A pipe is leaking in my kitchen; «Что сломалось?» — What broke?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to the repair service: a leaking pipe in the kitchen. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Здравствуйте! У меня протекает труба на кухне.Zdravstvuyte! U menya protekaet truba na kukhne.Hello! A pipe is leaking in my kitchen.
- Что сломалось?Chto slomalos?What broke?
- Вода везде на полу. Это плохо.Voda vezde na polu. Eto plokho.There is water all over the floor. It's bad.
- Понимаю. Я могу прийти сегодня вечером.Ponimayu. Ya mogu priyti segodnya vecherom.I see. I can come this evening.
- Хорошо. Когда вы придёте?Khorosho. Kogda vy pridyote?Good. When will you come?
- Вечером, после шести. Подождите меня.Vecherom, posle shesti. Podozhdite menya.In the evening, after six. Wait for me.
- Спасибо большое, до вечера.Spasibo bolshoe, do vechera.Thank you so much, see you tonight.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Здравствуйте! У меня протекает труба на кухне. | Zdravstvuyte! U menya protekaet truba na kukhne. | Hello! A pipe is leaking in my kitchen. |
| Что сломалось? | Chto slomalos? | What broke? |
| Вода везде на полу. Это плохо. | Voda vezde na polu. Eto plokho. | There is water all over the floor. It's bad. |
| Понимаю. Я могу прийти сегодня вечером. | Ponimayu. Ya mogu priyti segodnya vecherom. | I see. I can come this evening. |
| Хорошо. Когда вы придёте? | Khorosho. Kogda vy pridyote? | Good. When will you come? |
| Вечером, после шести. Подождите меня. | Vecherom, posle shesti. Podozhdite menya. | In the evening, after six. Wait for me. |
| Спасибо большое, до вечера. | Spasibo bolshoe, do vechera. | Thank you so much, see you tonight. |
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 Russian in this situation?
“Здравствуйте! У меня протекает труба на кухне.” (Zdravstvuyte! U menya protekaet truba na kukhne.) — Hello! A pipe is leaking in my kitchen. 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.