Qui és aquell noi? in Catalan
At a birthday we describe an unknown guest in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Qui és aquell noi de cabell arrissat, al costat de la tia Rosa?» — Who is that curly-haired guy next to Aunt Rosa?; «És en Pau, un conegut de la meva germana. És generós: sempre porta regals.» — That is Pau, my sister's acquaintance. He is generous: he always comes with presents. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at a birthday we describe an unknown guest. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Qui és aquell noi de cabell arrissat, al costat de la tia Rosa?Who is that curly-haired guy next to Aunt Rosa?
- És en Pau, un conegut de la meva germana. És generós: sempre porta regals.That is Pau, my sister's acquaintance. He is generous: he always comes with presents.
- Sembla seriós, però quan parla té molt sentit de l'humor.He seems serious, but when he talks — he has an excellent sense of humor.
- I físicament? És alt i esvelt, amb un lunar a la barbeta.And looks-wise? He is tall and slender, with a mole on his chin.
- Ja el veig. És atent amb la teva àvia, com dic sempre?I can picture him already. Is he caring with your grandmother, as I always say?
- Molt atent. Vés, presenta-te: és sociable i parlarà amb tu encantat.Very caring. Go and meet him: he is sociable and will gladly talk with you.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Qui és aquell noi de cabell arrissat, al costat de la tia Rosa? | — | Who is that curly-haired guy next to Aunt Rosa? |
| És en Pau, un conegut de la meva germana. És generós: sempre porta regals. | — | That is Pau, my sister's acquaintance. He is generous: he always comes with presents. |
| Sembla seriós, però quan parla té molt sentit de l'humor. | — | He seems serious, but when he talks — he has an excellent sense of humor. |
| I físicament? És alt i esvelt, amb un lunar a la barbeta. | — | And looks-wise? He is tall and slender, with a mole on his chin. |
| Ja el veig. És atent amb la teva àvia, com dic sempre? | — | I can picture him already. Is he caring with your grandmother, as I always say? |
| Molt atent. Vés, presenta-te: és sociable i parlarà amb tu encantat. | — | Very caring. Go and meet him: he is sociable and will gladly talk with you. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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 Catalan in this situation?
“Qui és aquell noi de cabell arrissat, al costat de la tia Rosa?” — Who is that curly-haired guy next to Aunt Rosa?. 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.