LingoflyAdvice about the move in Serbian
A friend advises how not to lose a weekend to moving in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Селим (selim) се (se) у (u) петак (petak), а (a) још (još) нисам (nisam) нашао (Našao) комби. Шта (šta) да (da) радим (Radim)?» — I'm moving on Friday and I haven't found a van yet.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a friend advises how not to lose a weekend to moving. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Da sam na tvom mestu, zvao bih dvojicu prijatelja i iznajmio kombi na dan.In your place I'd call two friends and rent a van for the day.
- Upravo tako. Barem pozovi firmu i pitaj cenu, za svaki slučaj.Exactly. At least call the company and ask the price, just in case.
- Pozvaću danas. Ako se ne varam, one rade i subotom.I'll call today. If I'm not mistaken, they work on Saturdays too.
- Rade. I spremi kutije unapred, u suprotnom ćeš pakovati do ponoći.They do. And prepare the boxes in advance, or you'll be packing until midnight.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Селим (selim) се (se) у (u) петак (petak), а (a) још (još) нисам (nisam) нашао (Našao) комби. Шта (šta) да (da) радим (Radim)? | Selim se u petak, a još nisam našao kombi. Šta da radim? | I'm moving on Friday and I haven't found a van yet. What should I do? |
| Да сам на твом месту (da sam na tvom mestu), звао (zvao) бих (bih) двојицу (dvojicu) пријатеља и (i) изнајмио комби на (na) дан (dan). | Da sam na tvom mestu, zvao bih dvojicu prijatelja i iznajmio kombi na dan. | In your place I'd call two friends and rent a van for the day. |
| Ако (ako) не (ne) нађем (nađem) комби, онда (onda) ћу (ću) морати из (iz) три (tri) пута (puta) својим (svojim) колима (kolima). | Ako ne nađem kombi, onda ću morati iz tri puta svojim kolima. | If I don't find a van, I'll have to do it in three runs in my own car. |
| То (to) је (je) узалуд (uzalud), изгубићеш цео (ceo) викенд (vikend). Боље (bolje) плати (plati) превоз (Prevoz) једном (jednom). | To je uzalud, izgubićeš ceo vikend. Bolje plati prevoz jednom. | That's a waste; you'll lose the whole weekend. Better to pay for the haul once. |
| Скупо (skupo) је (je). Мада, ако (ako) рачунам гориво (gorivo) и (i) време (vreme), можда (možda) и (i) није (nije). | Skupo je. Mada, ako računam gorivo i vreme, možda i nije. | Expensive. Though if you count the gas and the time, maybe not. |
| Управо тако (upravo tako). Барем (barem) позови (Pozovi) фирму (firmu) и (i) питај (pitaj) цену (cenu), за сваки случај (za svaki slučaj). | Upravo tako. Barem pozovi firmu i pitaj cenu, za svaki slučaj. | Exactly. At least call the company and ask the price, just in case. |
| Позваћу (Pozvaću) данас (danas). Ако се не варам (ako se ne varam), оне раде (rade) и (i) суботом (subotom). | Pozvaću danas. Ako se ne varam, one rade i subotom. | I'll call today. If I'm not mistaken, they work on Saturdays too. |
| Раде (rade). И (i) спреми кутије (kutije) унапред (unapred), у супротном (u suprotnom) ћеш (ćeš) паковати до (do) поноћи (ponoći). | Rade. I spremi kutije unapred, u suprotnom ćeš pakovati do ponoći. | They do. And prepare the boxes in advance, or you'll be packing until midnight. |
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?
“Селим (selim) се (se) у (u) петак (petak), а (a) још (još) нисам (nisam) нашао (Našao) комби. Шта (šta) да (da) радим (Radim)?” (Selim se u petak, a još nisam našao kombi. Šta da radim?) — I'm moving on Friday and I haven't found a van yet. What should I do? 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.