A new job in another city in Russian
Two friends at a café, one has been offered a job in another city in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Мне предложили работу в другом городе. Не знаю, как решить.» — I was offered a job in another city. I don't know how to decide; «На твоём месте я бы смотрел на зарплату.» — In your place I would look at the salary.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two friends at a café, one has been offered a job in another city. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Мне предложили работу в другом городе. Не знаю, как решить.Mne predlozhili rabotu v drugom gorode. Ne znayu, kak reshit.I was offered a job in another city. I don't know how to decide.
- На твоём месте я бы смотрел на зарплату.Na tvoyom meste ya by smotrel na zarplatu.In your place I would look at the salary.
- Зарплата выше, но ездить далеко.Zarplata vyshe, no ezdit daleko.The salary is higher, but the commute is long.
- Даже если надоест, всегда можно вернуться.Dazhe esli nadoest, vsegda mozhno vernutsya.Even if I get tired of it, I can always come back.
- Если честно, мне немного страшно.Esli chestno, mne nemnogo strashno.Honestly, I am a little scared.
- А иначе ты будешь жалеть, что не попробовал.A inache ty budesh zhalet, chto ne poproboval.Otherwise you will regret not having tried.
- Дай мне подумать до пятницы.Day mne podumat do pyatnitsy.Give me time to think until Friday.
- Конечно. В любом случае я тебя поддержу.Konechno. V lyubom sluchae ya tebya podderzhu.Of course. In any case I'll support you.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Мне предложили работу в другом городе. Не знаю, как решить. | Mne predlozhili rabotu v drugom gorode. Ne znayu, kak reshit. | I was offered a job in another city. I don't know how to decide. |
| На твоём месте я бы смотрел на зарплату. | Na tvoyom meste ya by smotrel na zarplatu. | In your place I would look at the salary. |
| Зарплата выше, но ездить далеко. | Zarplata vyshe, no ezdit daleko. | The salary is higher, but the commute is long. |
| Даже если надоест, всегда можно вернуться. | Dazhe esli nadoest, vsegda mozhno vernutsya. | Even if I get tired of it, I can always come back. |
| Если честно, мне немного страшно. | Esli chestno, mne nemnogo strashno. | Honestly, I am a little scared. |
| А иначе ты будешь жалеть, что не попробовал. | A inache ty budesh zhalet, chto ne poproboval. | Otherwise you will regret not having tried. |
| Дай мне подумать до пятницы. | Day mne podumat do pyatnitsy. | Give me time to think until Friday. |
| Конечно. В любом случае я тебя поддержу. | Konechno. V lyubom sluchae ya tebya podderzhu. | Of course. In any case I'll support 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 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?
“Мне предложили работу в другом городе. Не знаю, как решить.” (Mne predlozhili rabotu v drugom gorode. Ne znayu, kak reshit.) — I was offered a job in another city. I don't know how to decide. 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.