LingoflyAt the pharmacy in Serbian
A pharmacy on the corner, a cold for the third day in Serbian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Добар дан (dobar dan). Треба (treba) ми (mi) нешто (nešto) за (za) кашаљ (kašalj).» — Good afternoon. I need something for a cough; «Имате ли (Imate li) лекарски рецепт (lekarski recept)?» — Do you have a doctor's prescription? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a pharmacy on the corner, a cold for the third day. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Немам. Да ли се добија без рецепта?Nemam. Da li se dobija bez recepta?No. Is it available without a prescription?
- Ovaj sirup da. Pije se dva puta dnevno, posle jela.This syrup, yes. Take it twice a day, after meals.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Добар дан (dobar dan). Треба (treba) ми (mi) нешто (nešto) за (za) кашаљ (kašalj). | Dobar dan. Treba mi nešto za kašalj. | Good afternoon. I need something for a cough. |
| Имате ли (Imate li) лекарски рецепт (lekarski recept)? | Imate li lekarski recept? | Do you have a doctor's prescription? |
| Немам (nemam). Да ли се добија без рецепта? (Da li se dobija bez recepta) | Nemam. Da li se dobija bez recepta? | No. Is it available without a prescription? |
| Овај (ovaj) сируп (sirup) да (da). Пије (pije) се (se) два пута дневно (dva puta dnevno), после јела (posle jela). | Ovaj sirup da. Pije se dva puta dnevno, posle jela. | This syrup, yes. Take it twice a day, after meals. |
| Треба (treba) ми (mi) и (i) фластер (flaster). Колико (koliko) је (je) укупно (ukupno)? | Treba mi i flaster. Koliko je ukupno? | I also need a plaster. How much in total? |
| Шестсто (šeststo) педесет (pedeset) динара (dinara). Пријатно! | Šeststo pedeset dinara. Prijatno! | Six hundred and fifty dinars. All the best! |
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 Serbian in this situation?
“Добар дан (dobar dan). Треба (treba) ми (mi) нешто (nešto) за (za) кашаљ (kašalj).” (Dobar dan. Treba mi nešto za kašalj.) — Good afternoon. I need something for a cough. 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.