Day 83 of 135

Day 83: The Customer Knows Engines

At his auto repair shop in Tanauan, Batangas, mechanic Rolly (A) starts explaining a snapped timing belt to Estela (B), a customer he has just met, in the simple words he uses with most customers.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Ma'am, napigtas ho ang parang goma sa loob ng makina ninyo.

    Ma'am, that rubber-band thing inside your engine snapped.

  2. B

    Ang timing belt ho? Sa STAR Tollway ho napigtas, nasa eighty ako. Interference engine ho ga ire?

    The timing belt, you mean? It snapped on the STAR Tollway, I was doing eighty. Is this an interference engine?

  3. A

    Ah... oho. Malamang ho tinamaan ang valves, kaya bagong cylinder head, mga trenta mil lahat.

    Uh... yes, it is. Most likely the valves got hit, so it's a new cylinder head, around thirty thousand all in.

  4. B

    Bago ho ninyo ako singilin ng bagong head, compression test muna. Baka ho dalawang valve lang ang baluktot.

    Before you charge me for a new head, a compression test first. It might be just a couple of bent valves.

  5. A

    Saan ho ga kayo natuto ng makina? Ang mga customer ko ho, "goma" lamang ang alam.

    Where did you learn about engines? All my customers know is "rubber band."

  6. B

    Engineer ho ako sa planta ng auto parts sa Santo Tomas. Taga-rito rin ho ako.

    I'm an engineer at an auto parts plant in Santo Tomas. And I'm from around here too.

  7. A

    Kaya pala ho. Libre na ang compression test, at kapag pantay ang apat na silindro, timing kit lang ho.

    So that explains it. The compression test is on the house, and if all four cylinders come out even, it's just the timing kit.

  8. B

    Isabay na ho ang water pump. At original ho, hindi class A na hanggang Lipa lang ang tagal.

    Let's do the water pump at the same time. And genuine parts, not those "class A" knockoffs that only last as far as Lipa.

  9. A

    Kung timing kit lang ho, nasa dose mil, piyesa at labor na. Hindi na ho trenta.

    If it's only the timing kit, about twelve thousand, parts and labor. Not thirty anymore.

  10. B

    Kung may baluktot man ho, valve job lang. Ako na ho ang bibili ng valves, may discount kami.

    And if any are bent, it's just a valve job. I'll buy the valves myself, we get a discount.

  11. A

    Kayo na rin ho ga ang magkakabit? Baka ho ako na ang magbayad sa inyo.

    Will you be installing them yourself too? Maybe I should be the one paying you.

  12. B

    Hindi ho, kayo pa rin ang mekaniko. Ako lang ho ang magbabasa ng resibo.

    No, you're still the mechanic. I'll just be the one reading the receipt.

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