What he is like at work in Russian
Two colleagues on a break discuss what the new employee is like at work in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Каким тебе кажется новый сотрудник?» — What does the new employee seem like to you?; «Покладистый и отзывчивый, но немного замкнутый.» — Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues on a break discuss what the new employee is like at work. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Каким тебе кажется новый сотрудник?Kakim tebe kazhetsya novyy sotrudnik?What does the new employee seem like to you?
- Покладистый и отзывчивый, но немного замкнутый.Pokladistyy i otzyvchivyy, no nemnogo zamknutyy.Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn.
- Мне он кажется прежде всего дотошным.Mne on kazhetsya prezhde vsego dotoshnym.To me he seems above all thorough.
- Это не плохо: его точность спасла нам заказ.Eto ne plokho: ego tochnost spasla nam zakaz.That is not bad: his precision saved our order.
- И правда, он заслужил похвалу при всех.I pravda, on zasluzhil pokhvalu pri vsekh.Indeed, he earned praise in front of everyone.
- Только не сплетничай о нём за спиной.Tolko ne spletnichay o nyom za spinoy.Just don't gossip about him behind his back.
- Я не со зла, честно.Ya ne so zla, chestno.I didn't mean any harm, honestly.
- Знаю. Вы с ним поладите, вот увидишь.Znayu. Vy s nim poladite, vot uvidish.I know. You'll get along with him, you'll see.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Каким тебе кажется новый сотрудник? | Kakim tebe kazhetsya novyy sotrudnik? | What does the new employee seem like to you? |
| Покладистый и отзывчивый, но немного замкнутый. | Pokladistyy i otzyvchivyy, no nemnogo zamknutyy. | Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn. |
| Мне он кажется прежде всего дотошным. | Mne on kazhetsya prezhde vsego dotoshnym. | To me he seems above all thorough. |
| Это не плохо: его точность спасла нам заказ. | Eto ne plokho: ego tochnost spasla nam zakaz. | That is not bad: his precision saved our order. |
| И правда, он заслужил похвалу при всех. | I pravda, on zasluzhil pokhvalu pri vsekh. | Indeed, he earned praise in front of everyone. |
| Только не сплетничай о нём за спиной. | Tolko ne spletnichay o nyom za spinoy. | Just don't gossip about him behind his back. |
| Я не со зла, честно. | Ya ne so zla, chestno. | I didn't mean any harm, honestly. |
| Знаю. Вы с ним поладите, вот увидишь. | Znayu. Vy s nim poladite, vot uvidish. | I know. You'll get along with him, you'll see. |
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?
“Каким тебе кажется новый сотрудник?” (Kakim tebe kazhetsya novyy sotrudnik?) — What does the new employee seem like to you? 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.