LingoflyWe rented a car for a week in Serbian
A car rental desk at the airport, a customer and a clerk in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Добар дан (dobar dan), резервисали (Rezervisali) смо (smo) ауто (auto) преко (preko) интернета (interneta) на (na) недељу (nedelju) дана (dana).» — Good afternoon, we booked a car online for a week; «Изволите (izvolite) возачку (vozačku) дозволу (dozvolu) и (i) личну (ličnu) карту (kartu). Је (je) ли (li) резервација (rezervacija) на (na) ваше (vaše) име (ime)?» — Certainly: your driver's license and your ID.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a car rental desk at the airport, a customer and a clerk. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Izvolite vozačku dozvolu i ličnu kartu. Je li rezervacija na vaše ime?Certainly: your driver's license and your ID. Is the booking in your name?
- Jeste. Da li je auto-osiguranje uračunato u cenu?Yes. Is the car insurance included in the price?
- Uzećemo kasko. A rezervni točak i gepek, jesu li u redu?We'll take the comprehensive. And are the spare tire and the trunk in order?
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Добар дан (dobar dan), резервисали (Rezervisali) смо (smo) ауто (auto) преко (preko) интернета (interneta) на (na) недељу (nedelju) дана (dana). | Dobar dan, rezervisali smo auto preko interneta na nedelju dana. | Good afternoon, we booked a car online for a week. |
| Изволите (izvolite) возачку (vozačku) дозволу (dozvolu) и (i) личну (ličnu) карту (kartu). Је (je) ли (li) резервација (rezervacija) на (na) ваше (vaše) име (ime)? | Izvolite vozačku dozvolu i ličnu kartu. Je li rezervacija na vaše ime? | Certainly: your driver's license and your ID. Is the booking in your name? |
| Јесте. Да (da) ли (li) је (je) ауто-осигурање (auto-osiguranje) урачунато у цену (uračunato u cenu)? | Jeste. Da li je auto-osiguranje uračunato u cenu? | Yes. Is the car insurance included in the price? |
| Обавезно (obavezno) јесте, каско није (nije). Каско је (je) двадесет (dvadeset) евра (evra) дневно (dnevno), али зато (ali zato) нема (Nema) депозита. | Obavezno jeste, kasko nije. Kasko je dvadeset evra dnevno, ali zato nema depozita. | The mandatory one, yes; comprehensive isn't. Comprehensive is twenty euros a day, but then there's no deposit. |
| Узећемо каско. А (a) резервни точак (rezervni točak) и (i) гепек (gepek), јесу ли (li) у (u) реду (redu)? | Uzećemo kasko. A rezervni točak i gepek, jesu li u redu? | We'll take the comprehensive. And are the spare tire and the trunk in order? |
| Све (Sve) смо (smo) проверили јутрос (jutros). Ауто се враћа са пуним резервоаром (Auto se vraća sa punim rezervoarom), иначе (inače) наплаћујемо гориво (gorivo). | Sve smo proverili jutros. Auto se vraća sa punim rezervoarom, inače naplaćujemo gorivo. | We checked everything this morning. The car comes back with a full tank, otherwise we charge for fuel. |
| Разумем (razumem). Где (gde) да (da) вратим (vratim) ауто (auto) ако (ako) лет (let) буде рано (rano) ујутру (ujutru)? | Razumem. Gde da vratim auto ako let bude rano ujutru? | I see. Where do I return the car if my flight is early in the morning? |
| На (na) истом месту (mestu), кључеве (ključeve) убаците у (u) кутију (kutiju). Чим (čim) ауто (auto) прегледамо, вратићемо вам (vam) депозит (depozit). | Na istom mestu, ključeve ubacite u kutiju. Čim auto pregledamo, vratićemo vam depozit. | At the same spot; drop the keys in the box. As soon as we inspect the car, we'll return your deposit. |
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), резервисали (Rezervisali) смо (smo) ауто (auto) преко (preko) интернета (interneta) на (na) недељу (nedelju) дана (dana).” (Dobar dan, rezervisali smo auto preko interneta na nedelju dana.) — Good afternoon, we booked a car online for a week. 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.