What the new colleague is like in Arabic
Two colleagues at the break discuss what the new person is like at work in Arabic. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ما رأيك في الزميل الجديد؟» — What is your opinion of the new colleague?; «متعاون ودقيق، لكنه قليلا منعزل.» — Helpful and thorough, but a little withdrawn.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues at the break discuss what the new person is like at work. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ما رأيك في الزميل الجديد؟ма раʾйук фи аз-замииль аль-джадиид؟What is your opinion of the new colleague?
- متعاون ودقيق، لكنه قليلا منعزل.мутаʿаавин ва-дакиик, лякиннаху галилян мунʿазиль.Helpful and thorough, but a little withdrawn.
- عندي رأي آخر: هو دقيق جدا في العمل.ʿиндий раʾй аахар: хува дакиик джиддан фи аль-ʿамаль.I have a different opinion: he is very thorough in his work.
- هذا ليس عطلا: دقته أنقذت طلبا كبيرا.хаза ляйса ʿатлан: диккатуху ангазат талябан кябира.That is not a defect: his precision saved a big order.
- صحيح، لقد استحق مدحا أمام الجميع.сахиих, лягад истахакка мадихан амаам аль-джамииʿ.Right, he truly deserved the praise before everyone.
- نعم، لكن لا يمّع عنه في غيابه.наам, лякинн ля йяммаʿ ʿанху фи гайаабихи.Yes; only do not gossip about him in his absence.
- لم أكن أظن ذلك.лям кунту азунн залик.I did not think that.
- أعرف، أنت حساس قليلا اليوم.аʿриф, анта хассаас галилян аль-йаум.I know you are a little touchy today.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ما رأيك في الزميل الجديد؟ | ма раʾйук фи аз-замииль аль-джадиид؟ | What is your opinion of the new colleague? |
| متعاون ودقيق، لكنه قليلا منعزل. | мутаʿаавин ва-дакиик, лякиннаху галилян мунʿазиль. | Helpful and thorough, but a little withdrawn. |
| عندي رأي آخر: هو دقيق جدا في العمل. | ʿиндий раʾй аахар: хува дакиик джиддан фи аль-ʿамаль. | I have a different opinion: he is very thorough in his work. |
| هذا ليس عطلا: دقته أنقذت طلبا كبيرا. | хаза ляйса ʿатлан: диккатуху ангазат талябан кябира. | That is not a defect: his precision saved a big order. |
| صحيح، لقد استحق مدحا أمام الجميع. | сахиих, лягад истахакка мадихан амаам аль-джамииʿ. | Right, he truly deserved the praise before everyone. |
| نعم، لكن لا يمّع عنه في غيابه. | наам, лякинн ля йяммаʿ ʿанху фи гайаабихи. | Yes; only do not gossip about him in his absence. |
| لم أكن أظن ذلك. | лям кунту азунн залик. | I did not think that. |
| أعرف، أنت حساس قليلا اليوم. | аʿриф, анта хассаас галилян аль-йаум. | I know you are a little touchy today. |
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 Arabic in this situation?
“ما رأيك في الزميل الجديد؟” (ма раʾйук фи аз-замииль аль-джадиид؟) — What is your opinion of the new colleague? 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.