LingoflySorry? I didn't hear you in Serbian
A bad connection: a call about a rental ad for an apartment in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Хало? Нисам вас чуо (nisam vas čuo), овде (ovde) је (je) бучно (bučno).» — Hello? I didn't quite hear you; it's noisy here; «Зовем (Zovem) у вези са (u vezi sa) огласом (oglasom). Ствар је у томе што (stvar je u tome što) ми (mi) стан (Stan) треба (treba) од (od) септембра (septembra).» — I'm calling about the ad. The thing is, I need the apartment from September.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a bad connection: a call about a rental ad for an apartment. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Halo? Nisam vas čuo, ovde je bučno.Hello? I didn't quite hear you; it's noisy here.
- Zovem u vezi sa oglasom. Stvar je u tome što mi stan treba od septembra.I'm calling about the ad. The thing is, I need the apartment from September.
- Молим? Шта сте рекли, од ког месеца?Molim? Šta ste rekli, od kog meseca?Sorry? What did you say — from which month?
- Od septembra. Da li sam dobro razumeo, stan je još slobodan?From September. Did I understand right that the apartment is still available?
- Jeste, slobodan je. Hoćete da kažete da biste ga gledali ove nedelje?Yes, it's available. Do you mean you'd like to see it this week?
- Da, ako nije teško. I recite mi adresu slovo po slovo, molim.Yes, if it's not too much trouble. And spell out the address for me, please.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Хало? Нисам вас чуо (nisam vas čuo), овде (ovde) је (je) бучно (bučno). | Halo? Nisam vas čuo, ovde je bučno. | Hello? I didn't quite hear you; it's noisy here. |
| Зовем (Zovem) у вези са (u vezi sa) огласом (oglasom). Ствар је у томе што (stvar je u tome što) ми (mi) стан (Stan) треба (treba) од (od) септембра (septembra). | Zovem u vezi sa oglasom. Stvar je u tome što mi stan treba od septembra. | I'm calling about the ad. The thing is, I need the apartment from September. |
| Молим (molim)? Шта сте рекли (šta ste rekli), од (od) ког месеца (meseca)? | Molim? Šta ste rekli, od kog meseca? | Sorry? What did you say — from which month? |
| Од (od) септембра (septembra). Да ли сам добро разумео (da li sam dobro razumeo), стан (Stan) је (je) још (još) слободан (slobodan)? | Od septembra. Da li sam dobro razumeo, stan je još slobodan? | From September. Did I understand right that the apartment is still available? |
| Јесте, слободан (slobodan) је (je). Хоћете да кажете (hoćete da kažete) да (da) бисте (biste) га (ga) гледали (gledali) ове недеље (ove nedelje)? | Jeste, slobodan je. Hoćete da kažete da biste ga gledali ove nedelje? | Yes, it's available. Do you mean you'd like to see it this week? |
| Да (da), ако није тешко (ako nije teško). И (i) реците (Recite) ми (mi) адресу (adresu) слово по слово, молим (slovo po slovo, molim). | Da, ako nije teško. I recite mi adresu slovo po slovo, molim. | Yes, if it's not too much trouble. And spell out the address for me, please. |
| Наравно (naravno), само тренутак, објаснићу (samo trenutak, objasniću) вам (vam) и (i) како (kako) да (da) дођете. | Naravno, samo trenutak, objasniću vam i kako da dođete. | Of course, one minute; I'll also explain how to get there. |
| Хвала (hvala). Онда (onda) се (se) чујемо (čujemo) сутра (sutra), до чујења (do čujenja). | Hvala. Onda se čujemo sutra, do čujenja. | Thanks. Then let's talk tomorrow; talk to you then. |
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?
“Хало? Нисам вас чуо (nisam vas čuo), овде (ovde) је (je) бучно (bučno).” (Halo? Nisam vas čuo, ovde je bučno.) — Hello? I didn't quite hear you; it's noisy here. 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.