LingoflyLet's move the meeting in Serbian
A phone call: rescheduling an arranged meeting in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Извините (izvinite) што (što) зовем (Zovem) овако (ovako) касно (kasno). Морам (Moram) да (da) померим (pomerim) састанак (sastanak).» — Sorry for calling so late. I need to reschedule the meeting; «Нема везе, дешава се (Nema veze, dešava se). Који (Koji) вам (vam) је (je) термин (termin) згодан?» — No problem, it happens. What time suits you? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call: rescheduling an arranged meeting. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Може ли у среду поподне, не пре пет?Može li u sredu popodne, ne pre pet?Could we do Wednesday afternoon, not earlier than five?
- Četvrtak predveče mi odgovara. Da li sam dobro razumeo, u šest?Thursday toward the evening works for me. Did I understand right, at six?
- Upravo tako. Podsetite me porukom dan ranije, ako nije teško.Exactly. Please remind me with a message a day ahead, if you don't mind.
- Hoću, naravno. Doći ću na vreme, bilo mi je drago.Of course, I'll remind you. I'll be on time; it was nice talking.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Извините (izvinite) што (što) зовем (Zovem) овако (ovako) касно (kasno). Морам (Moram) да (da) померим (pomerim) састанак (sastanak). | Izvinite što zovem ovako kasno. Moram da pomerim sastanak. | Sorry for calling so late. I need to reschedule the meeting. |
| Нема везе, дешава се (Nema veze, dešava se). Који (Koji) вам (vam) је (je) термин (termin) згодан? | Nema veze, dešava se. Koji vam je termin zgodan? | No problem, it happens. What time suits you? |
| Може (Može) ли (li) у (u) среду (sredu) поподне (popodne), не пре пет (ne pre pet)? | Može li u sredu popodne, ne pre pet? | Could we do Wednesday afternoon, not earlier than five? |
| Среда (sreda) ми (mi) не (ne) одговара (odgovara), тог (tog) дана (dana) водим (vodim) ауто (auto) на (na) технички преглед (tehnički pregled). | Sreda mi ne odgovara, tog dana vodim auto na tehnički pregled. | Wednesday doesn't work for me; that day I'm taking the car for its inspection. |
| Онда (onda) четвртак (četvrtak) предвече (predveče)? Или (ili) у било које време (u bilo koje vreme) у (u) петак (petak). | Onda četvrtak predveče? Ili u bilo koje vreme u petak. | Then Thursday toward the evening? Or any time on Friday. |
| Четвртак (četvrtak) предвече (predveče) ми (mi) одговара (odgovara). Да ли сам добро разумео (da li sam dobro razumeo), у (u) шест (šest)? | Četvrtak predveče mi odgovara. Da li sam dobro razumeo, u šest? | Thursday toward the evening works for me. Did I understand right, at six? |
| Управо тако (upravo tako). Подсетите ме (me) поруком (porukom) дан (dan) раније (ranije), ако није тешко (ako nije teško). | Upravo tako. Podsetite me porukom dan ranije, ako nije teško. | Exactly. Please remind me with a message a day ahead, if you don't mind. |
| Хоћу (hoću), наравно (naravno). Доћи ћу на време (doći ću na vreme), било ми је драго (bilo mi je drago). | Hoću, naravno. Doći ću na vreme, bilo mi je drago. | Of course, I'll remind you. I'll be on time; it was nice talking. |
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?
“Извините (izvinite) што (što) зовем (Zovem) овако (ovako) касно (kasno). Морам (Moram) да (da) померим (pomerim) састанак (sastanak).” (Izvinite što zovem ovako kasno. Moram da pomerim sastanak.) — Sorry for calling so late. I need to reschedule the meeting. 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.