LingoflyHow old are they? in Serbian
Neighbors' first conversation in the courtyard, children playing nearby in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Јесу ли (li) то (to) ваша (vaša) деца (deca) у (u) дворишту (dvorištu)?» — Are those your children in the yard?; «Јесу. Дечак (dečak) је (je) мој (moj), а (a) девојчица (devojčica) је (je) сестрина.» — Yes. The boy is mine, and the girl is my sister's. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: neighbors' first conversation in the courtyard, children playing nearby. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Јесу ли (li) то (to) ваша (vaša) деца (deca) у (u) дворишту (dvorištu)? | Jesu li to vaša deca u dvorištu? | Are those your children in the yard? |
| Јесу. Дечак (dečak) је (je) мој (moj), а (a) девојчица (devojčica) је (je) сестрина. | Jesu. Dečak je moj, a devojčica je sestrina. | Yes. The boy is mine, and the girl is my sister's. |
| Слатки су (su). Колико (koliko) имају (imaju) година (godina)? | Slatki su. Koliko imaju godina? | Sweet. How old are they? |
| Мој (moj) син (sin) има (ima) седам (sedam), а (a) њена ћерка (ćerka) четири (četiri). | Moj sin ima sedam, a njena ćerka četiri. | My son is seven, and her daughter is four. |
| Ми (mi) смо (smo) се (se) доселили прекјуче (prekjuče). Живимо (živimo) на (na) трећем (trećem) спрату (spratu). | Mi smo se doselili prekjuče. Živimo na trećem spratu. | We moved in the day before yesterday. We live on the third floor. |
| Добро (dobro) дошли (došli)! Ако (ako) вам (vam) нешто (nešto) треба (treba), ту (tu) смо (smo). | Dobro došli! Ako vam nešto treba, tu smo. | Welcome! If you need anything, we're right here. |
| Хвала (hvala). Има (ima) ли (li) овде (ovde) близу (blizu) неко (neko) игралиште (igralište) за (za) децу (decu)? | Hvala. Ima li ovde blizu neko igralište za decu? | Thanks. Is there a playground for children nearby? |
| Има (ima), иза (iza) зграде (zgrade). Деца (deca) се (se) тамо (tamo) играју (igraju) цео дан (ceo dan). | Ima, iza zgrade. Deca se tamo igraju ceo dan. | There is, behind the building. The kids play there all day. |
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?
“Јесу ли (li) то (to) ваша (vaša) деца (deca) у (u) дворишту (dvorištu)?” (Jesu li to vaša deca u dvorištu?) — Are those your children in the yard? 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.