Why the job stalled in Russian
A boss and a worker go over why the renovation dragged on for a week in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Почему ремонт затянулся на целую неделю?» — Why has the renovation dragged on for a whole week?; «Был сбой с доставкой, и потом мы работали впустую.» — There was a glitch with delivery, and then we worked in vain.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a boss and a worker go over why the renovation dragged on for a week. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Почему ремонт затянулся на целую неделю?Pochemu remont zatyanulsya na tseluyu nedelyu?Why has the renovation dragged on for a whole week?
- Был сбой с доставкой, и потом мы работали впустую.Byl sboy s dostavkoy, i potom my rabotali vpustuyu.There was a glitch with delivery, and then we worked in vain.
- Почему не сказал раньше, вместо того чтобы оттягивать?Pochemu ne skazal ranshe, vmesto togo chtoby ottyagivat?Why didn't you say so earlier, instead of putting it off?
- Думал, препятствие устраним сами, без посторонней помощи.Dumal, prepyatstvie ustranim sami, bez postoronney pomoshchi.I thought we would remove the obstacle ourselves, without outside help.
- Теперь придётся приступить заново, почти с нуля.Teper pridyotsya pristupit zanovo, pochti s nulya.Now we will have to start again, almost from zero.
- Не сдамся. Только нужен план и два дня тишины.Ne sdamsya. Tolko nuzhen plan i dva dnya tishiny.I won't give up. I just need a plan and two days of silence.
- Хорошо. Задачи разложим по полкам и завершим к пятнице.Khorosho. Zadachi razlozhim po polkam i zavershim k pyatnitse.Good. We'll sort the tasks onto shelves and finish by Friday.
- В этот раз сделаем как следует, по всем правилам.V etot raz sdelaem kak sleduet, po vsem pravilam.This time we will do it properly, by all the rules.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Почему ремонт затянулся на целую неделю? | Pochemu remont zatyanulsya na tseluyu nedelyu? | Why has the renovation dragged on for a whole week? |
| Был сбой с доставкой, и потом мы работали впустую. | Byl sboy s dostavkoy, i potom my rabotali vpustuyu. | There was a glitch with delivery, and then we worked in vain. |
| Почему не сказал раньше, вместо того чтобы оттягивать? | Pochemu ne skazal ranshe, vmesto togo chtoby ottyagivat? | Why didn't you say so earlier, instead of putting it off? |
| Думал, препятствие устраним сами, без посторонней помощи. | Dumal, prepyatstvie ustranim sami, bez postoronney pomoshchi. | I thought we would remove the obstacle ourselves, without outside help. |
| Теперь придётся приступить заново, почти с нуля. | Teper pridyotsya pristupit zanovo, pochti s nulya. | Now we will have to start again, almost from zero. |
| Не сдамся. Только нужен план и два дня тишины. | Ne sdamsya. Tolko nuzhen plan i dva dnya tishiny. | I won't give up. I just need a plan and two days of silence. |
| Хорошо. Задачи разложим по полкам и завершим к пятнице. | Khorosho. Zadachi razlozhim po polkam i zavershim k pyatnitse. | Good. We'll sort the tasks onto shelves and finish by Friday. |
| В этот раз сделаем как следует, по всем правилам. | V etot raz sdelaem kak sleduet, po vsem pravilam. | This time we will do it properly, by all the rules. |
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 Russian in this situation?
“Почему ремонт затянулся на целую неделю?” (Pochemu remont zatyanulsya na tseluyu nedelyu?) — Why has the renovation dragged on for a whole week? 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.