Day 44: Gold-Plated Cotton Balls
At the billing office of a private hospital in Mandaluyong, Mang Hilario (A), a retired accountant going home after five days, reads his bill line by line in front of Cecilia (B), the billing officer.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day
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A
Iha, bago ako pumirma, iisa-isahin ko muna ito. Apatnapung taon akong accountant.
Before I sign, young lady, I'm going to go through this item by item. I was an accountant for forty years.
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B
Sige po, Sir Hilario. Naibawas na po riyan ang PhilHealth at ang senior discount ninyo.
Go ahead, Sir Hilario. Your PhilHealth and senior discount have already been deducted.
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A
Mabuti. O, bulak, halos isang libo. Aba, ang mahal pala ng bulak dito, gawa ba sa ginto?
Good. Now, cotton balls, almost a thousand pesos. My, cotton must be expensive here. Is it made of gold?
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B
Sterile po kasi at medical grade ang lahat ng supplies namin, Sir.
All our supplies are sterile and medical grade, Sir.
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A
At guwantes, apatnapung pares sa limang araw. Mukhang nakipagkamay sa akin ang buong ospital.
And gloves, forty pairs in five days. Well, it looks like the whole hospital came by to shake my hand.
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B
Bagong guwantes po sa bawat kuha ng dugo, Sir. Para rin po sa kaligtasan ninyo.
A new pair for every blood draw, Sir. It's for your safety too.
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A
Para sa kaligtasan ko, kaya pala tumaas ulit ang presyon ko pagkabasa ko nito. Paracetamol, singkuwenta ang isang tableta.
For my safety, so that's why my blood pressure went up again when I read this. Paracetamol, fifty pesos a tablet.
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B
Sir, pasensiya na po, may sampu pa pong nakapila. Kung may partikular po kayong tanong...
Sir, I'm sorry, there are ten more people in line. If you have a specific question...
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A
Mayroon, at hindi na ito biro. Anim na araw ang room charge mula a-katorse, pero gabi ng a-kinse ako na-admit.
I do, and this one's no joke. The room charge is six days starting the fourteenth, but I was admitted the night of the fifteenth.
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B
Sandali po... Tama po kayo, Sir, mali ang na-encode na petsa. Babawasan ko po ng isang araw.
One moment... You're right, Sir, the date was encoded wrong. I'll take off one day.
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A
Salamat, iha. Hindi ko inirereklamo ang lahat, ang mali lang. Ang bulak na ginto, palalampasin ko na.
Thank you, young lady. I don't complain about everything, only about mistakes. The gold cotton balls, I'll let slide.
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