A difficult coworker in Spanish
Two people discuss a colleague: character, actions, whether to get involved in Spanish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «No sé cómo tratarlo. Es muy susceptible.» — I don't know how to deal with him. He is very touchy.; «Es reservado, nada más. Con paciencia se abre.» — He's reserved, that's all. With patience he opens up. Every line can be played right on the page. 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: two people discuss a colleague: character, actions, whether to get involved. 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.
- No sé cómo tratarlo. Es muy susceptible.I don't know how to deal with him. He is very touchy.
- Es reservado, nada más. Con paciencia se abre.He's reserved, that's all. With patience he opens up.
- Ayer le dije algo con buena intención y se ofendió.Yesterday I said something to him with good intention and he took offense.
- No lo hace con mala idea, es orgulloso y ya está.He doesn't do it out of malice, he's just proud, that's all.
- Aun así, dejó tirada a la cuadrilla el viernes.Even so, he left the crew in the lurch on Friday.
- Eso está feo, sí. Pero no juzgues sin saber qué le pasa.That's ugly, yes. But don't judge without knowing what's wrong with him.
- Prefiero mantenerme al margen y no meterme donde no me llaman.I prefer to stay on the sidelines and not push in where I'm not called.
- Habla con él de igual a igual y verás cómo hacéis buenas migas.Talk to him as an equal and you'll see how you hit it off.
- Lo intento mañana. Total, tampoco pierdo nada.I'll try tomorrow. After all, I don't lose anything.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| No sé cómo tratarlo. Es muy susceptible. | — | I don't know how to deal with him. He is very touchy. |
| Es reservado, nada más. Con paciencia se abre. | — | He's reserved, that's all. With patience he opens up. |
| Ayer le dije algo con buena intención y se ofendió. | — | Yesterday I said something to him with good intention and he took offense. |
| No lo hace con mala idea, es orgulloso y ya está. | — | He doesn't do it out of malice, he's just proud, that's all. |
| Aun así, dejó tirada a la cuadrilla el viernes. | — | Even so, he left the crew in the lurch on Friday. |
| Eso está feo, sí. Pero no juzgues sin saber qué le pasa. | — | That's ugly, yes. But don't judge without knowing what's wrong with him. |
| Prefiero mantenerme al margen y no meterme donde no me llaman. | — | I prefer to stay on the sidelines and not push in where I'm not called. |
| Habla con él de igual a igual y verás cómo hacéis buenas migas. | — | Talk to him as an equal and you'll see how you hit it off. |
| Lo intento mañana. Total, tampoco pierdo nada. | — | I'll try tomorrow. After all, I don't lose anything. |
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 Spanish in this situation?
“No sé cómo tratarlo. Es muy susceptible.” — I don't know how to deal with him. He is very touchy.. 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.