The new colleague in Russian
Two colleagues by the window at lunch, discussing the newcomer in Russian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ты уже видел нового коллегу?» — Have you seen the new colleague yet?; «Среднего роста, седой, с бородой. Очень стройный.» — Of medium height, gray-haired, with a beard. Very slim.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues by the window at lunch, discussing the newcomer. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ты уже видел нового коллегу?Ty uzhe videl novogo kollegu?Have you seen the new colleague yet?
- Среднего роста, седой, с бородой. Очень стройный.Srednego rosta, sedoy, s borodoy. Ochen stroynyy.Of medium height, gray-haired, with a beard. Very slim.
- Седой? Он же совсем молодой!Sedoy? On zhe sovsem molodoy!Gray-haired? But he is quite young!
- Волосы седые, а сам он бодрый. И очень общительный.Volosy sedye, a sam on bodryy. I ochen obshchitelnyy.His hair is gray, but he himself is lively. And very sociable.
- Мне сказали, он немного рассеянный.Mne skazali, on nemnogo rasseyannyy.I was told he is a bit absent-minded.
- Бывает. Зато он щедрый и заботливый.Byvaet. Zato on shchedryy i zabotlivyy.It happens. But he is generous and caring.
- Тогда я рад, что он теперь с нами.Togda ya rad, chto on teper s nami.Then I am glad he is with us now.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ты уже видел нового коллегу? | Ty uzhe videl novogo kollegu? | Have you seen the new colleague yet? |
| Среднего роста, седой, с бородой. Очень стройный. | Srednego rosta, sedoy, s borodoy. Ochen stroynyy. | Of medium height, gray-haired, with a beard. Very slim. |
| Седой? Он же совсем молодой! | Sedoy? On zhe sovsem molodoy! | Gray-haired? But he is quite young! |
| Волосы седые, а сам он бодрый. И очень общительный. | Volosy sedye, a sam on bodryy. I ochen obshchitelnyy. | His hair is gray, but he himself is lively. And very sociable. |
| Мне сказали, он немного рассеянный. | Mne skazali, on nemnogo rasseyannyy. | I was told he is a bit absent-minded. |
| Бывает. Зато он щедрый и заботливый. | Byvaet. Zato on shchedryy i zabotlivyy. | It happens. But he is generous and caring. |
| Тогда я рад, что он теперь с нами. | Togda ya rad, chto on teper s nami. | Then I am glad he is with us now. |
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?
“Ты уже видел нового коллегу?” (Ty uzhe videl novogo kollegu?) — Have you seen the new colleague yet? 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.