At the repair center in Slovenian
The intake desk of a repair shop on the outskirts of Ljubljana in Slovenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Telefon se ne polni in se močno pregreva.» — The phone isn’t charging and gets very hot.; «Ste preverili kable in drugo vtičnico?» — Have you checked the cables and another outlet? 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: the intake desk of a repair shop on the outskirts of ljubljana. 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.
- Telefon se ne polni in se močno pregreva.The phone isn’t charging and gets very hot.
- Ste preverili kable in drugo vtičnico?Have you checked the cables and another outlet?
- Sem. Poleg tega zaslon včasih zamrzne.I did. Besides, the screen sometimes freezes.
- Naredimo diagnostiko. Stane trideset evrov.We’ll run diagnostics. It costs thirty euros.
- Kakšna bi bila cena popravila?What would the repair cost?
- Odvisno. Če je baterija, okoli sto evrov.It depends. If it’s the battery, about a hundred euros.
- In če ni več za popravilo?And if it can’t be repaired?
- Potem plačate le diagnostiko. Zahtevek oddajte tu.Then you only pay for the diagnostics. Submit the request here.
Lines one by one
| Slovenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Telefon se ne polni in se močno pregreva. | — | The phone isn’t charging and gets very hot. |
| Ste preverili kable in drugo vtičnico? | — | Have you checked the cables and another outlet? |
| Sem. Poleg tega zaslon včasih zamrzne. | — | I did. Besides, the screen sometimes freezes. |
| Naredimo diagnostiko. Stane trideset evrov. | — | We’ll run diagnostics. It costs thirty euros. |
| Kakšna bi bila cena popravila? | — | What would the repair cost? |
| Odvisno. Če je baterija, okoli sto evrov. | — | It depends. If it’s the battery, about a hundred euros. |
| In če ni več za popravilo? | — | And if it can’t be repaired? |
| Potem plačate le diagnostiko. Zahtevek oddajte tu. | — | Then you only pay for the diagnostics. Submit the request here. |
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?
“Telefon se ne polni in se močno pregreva.” — The phone isn’t charging and gets very hot.. 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.