LingoflyThe order that's late in Serbian
A call to an online store: the order didn't arrive on time in Serbian. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Добар дан (dobar dan), зовем (Zovem) због (zbog) поруџбине из (iz) интернет (internet) продавнице (prodavnice).» — Good afternoon, I'm calling about an order from the online store; «Добар дан (dobar dan). Реците (Recite) ми (mi) број (broj) поруџбине, молим (molim) вас (vas).» — Good afternoon. Could you give me the order number, please? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to an online store: the order didn't arrive on time. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- A cena dostave? Piše da je besplatna iznad tri hiljade.And the delivery cost? It says it's free over three thousand.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Добар дан (dobar dan), зовем (Zovem) због (zbog) поруџбине из (iz) интернет (internet) продавнице (prodavnice). | Dobar dan, zovem zbog porudžbine iz internet prodavnice. | Good afternoon, I'm calling about an order from the online store. |
| Добар дан (dobar dan). Реците (Recite) ми (mi) број (broj) поруџбине, молим (molim) вас (vas). | Dobar dan. Recite mi broj porudžbine, molim vas. | Good afternoon. Could you give me the order number, please? |
| Четири (četiri), седам (sedam), два (dva), девет (devet). Рок испоруке (rok isporuke) је (je) био (Bio) пет (pet) дана (dana), прошло (prošlo) је (je) девет (devet). | Četiri, sedam, dva, devet. Rok isporuke je bio pet dana, prošlo je devet. | Four, seven, two, nine. The delivery time was five days; it's been nine. |
| Видим (Vidim). Пакет (paket) је (je) код (kod) курира, али (ali) је (je) прималац (primalac) био (Bio) одсутан. | Vidim. Paket je kod kurira, ali je primalac bio odsutan. | I see. The parcel is with the courier, but the recipient wasn't home. |
| Нико (niko) ме (me) није (nije) звао (zvao). Могу (mogu) ли (li) да (da) променим адресу (adresu) на (na) радну (radnu)? | Niko me nije zvao. Mogu li da promenim adresu na radnu? | Nobody called me. Can I change the address to my work address? |
| Можете (možete). Плаћање (plaćanje) је (je) поузећем (pouzećem), па (pa) имајте новац (novac) спреман (spreman). | Možete. Plaćanje je pouzećem, pa imajte novac spreman. | You can. It's cash on delivery, so have the money ready. |
| А (a) цена доставе (cena dostave)? Пише (piše) да (da) је (je) бесплатна (besplatna) изнад (iznad) три (tri) хиљаде (hiljade). | A cena dostave? Piše da je besplatna iznad tri hiljade. | And the delivery cost? It says it's free over three thousand. |
| Тачно (tačno), ваша (vaša) поруџбина (porudžbina) је (je) изнад (iznad) тог (tog) износа, доставу не (ne) плаћате (plaćate). | Tačno, vaša porudžbina je iznad tog iznosa, dostavu ne plaćate. | Correct; your order is above that amount, so you don't pay for delivery. |
| Хвала (hvala). Молим (molim) вас (vas) да (da) ми (mi) потврдите (potvrdite) нови (novi) термин (termin) поруком (porukom). | Hvala. Molim vas da mi potvrdite novi termin porukom. | Thanks. Please confirm the new time to me by message. |
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), зовем (Zovem) због (zbog) поруџбине из (iz) интернет (internet) продавнице (prodavnice).” (Dobar dan, zovem zbog porudžbine iz internet prodavnice.) — Good afternoon, I'm calling about an order from the online store. 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.