The phone in for repair in Russian
The intake desk of a repair shop on the edge of town, a box with a phone on the counter in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Здравствуйте! Экран разбился, и звук пропал.» — Hello! The screen cracked and the sound is gone; «Сейчас посмотрим. Нужна диагностика.» — Let's have a look. Diagnostics is needed.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the intake desk of a repair shop on the edge of town, a box with a phone on the counter. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Здравствуйте! Экран разбился, и звук пропал.Zdravstvuyte! Ekran razbilsya, i zvuk propal.Hello! The screen cracked and the sound is gone.
- Сейчас посмотрим. Нужна диагностика.Seychas posmotrim. Nuzhna diagnostika.Let's have a look. Diagnostics is needed.
- Сколько стоит диагностика?Skolko stoit diagnostika?How much does the diagnostics cost?
- Пятьсот рублей. Срок — один день.Pyatsot rubley. Srok — odin den.Five hundred rubles. The time is one day.
- Хорошо. А если телефон не подлежит ремонту?Khorosho. A esli telefon ne podlezhit remontu?Good. And if the phone cannot be repaired?
- Тогда вы платите только за диагностику.Togda vy platite tolko za diagnostiku.Then you pay only for the diagnostics.
- Понятно. Оформите заявку, пожалуйста.Ponyatno. Oformite zayavku, pozhaluysta.I see. Please file a request.
- Готово. Приходите послезавтра.Gotovo. Prikhodite poslezavtra.Done. Come the day after tomorrow.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Здравствуйте! Экран разбился, и звук пропал. | Zdravstvuyte! Ekran razbilsya, i zvuk propal. | Hello! The screen cracked and the sound is gone. |
| Сейчас посмотрим. Нужна диагностика. | Seychas posmotrim. Nuzhna diagnostika. | Let's have a look. Diagnostics is needed. |
| Сколько стоит диагностика? | Skolko stoit diagnostika? | How much does the diagnostics cost? |
| Пятьсот рублей. Срок — один день. | Pyatsot rubley. Srok — odin den. | Five hundred rubles. The time is one day. |
| Хорошо. А если телефон не подлежит ремонту? | Khorosho. A esli telefon ne podlezhit remontu? | Good. And if the phone cannot be repaired? |
| Тогда вы платите только за диагностику. | Togda vy platite tolko za diagnostiku. | Then you pay only for the diagnostics. |
| Понятно. Оформите заявку, пожалуйста. | Ponyatno. Oformite zayavku, pozhaluysta. | I see. Please file a request. |
| Готово. Приходите послезавтра. | Gotovo. Prikhodite poslezavtra. | Done. Come the day after 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 Russian in this situation?
“Здравствуйте! Экран разбился, и звук пропал.” (Zdravstvuyte! Ekran razbilsya, i zvuk propal.) — Hello! The screen cracked and the sound is gone. 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.