About the new colleague in Slovenian
Two colleagues on a break discuss what the new person is like at work in Slovenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Kakšen se ti zdi novi sodelavec?» — What does the new colleague seem like to you?; «Prilagodljiv in ustrežljiv, a malo zaprt vase.» — Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn. 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 colleagues on a break discuss what the new person is like at work. 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.
- Kakšen se ti zdi novi sodelavec?What does the new colleague seem like to you?
- Prilagodljiv in ustrežljiv, a malo zaprt vase.Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn.
- Meni se zdi predvsem pikolovski.To me he seems above all thorough.
- To ni slabo. Njegova natančnost nam je rešila naročilo.That’s not bad. His accuracy saved the order for us.
- Res je, zaslužil si je pohvalo pred vsemi.True, he deserved praise in front of everyone.
- Samo ne opravljaj ga, ko ga ni zraven.Just don’t gossip about him when he’s not around.
- Nisem mislil hudega, res ne.I don’t mean any harm, really.
- Vem. Z njim se bova hitro ujela, boš videl.I know. He and I will get along quickly, you’ll see.
Lines one by one
| Slovenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Kakšen se ti zdi novi sodelavec? | — | What does the new colleague seem like to you? |
| Prilagodljiv in ustrežljiv, a malo zaprt vase. | — | Easygoing and helpful, but a bit withdrawn. |
| Meni se zdi predvsem pikolovski. | — | To me he seems above all thorough. |
| To ni slabo. Njegova natančnost nam je rešila naročilo. | — | That’s not bad. His accuracy saved the order for us. |
| Res je, zaslužil si je pohvalo pred vsemi. | — | True, he deserved praise in front of everyone. |
| Samo ne opravljaj ga, ko ga ni zraven. | — | Just don’t gossip about him when he’s not around. |
| Nisem mislil hudega, res ne. | — | I don’t mean any harm, really. |
| Vem. Z njim se bova hitro ujela, boš videl. | — | I know. He and I will get along quickly, 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 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 Slovenian in this situation?
“Kakšen se ti zdi novi sodelavec?” — What does the new colleague 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.