What should we watch tonight? in Serbian
A living room, two people in front of the TV with a remote in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Дај ми даљински, хоћу да променим канал. Ово је трећа реклама заредом.» — Give me the remote, I want to change the channel. This is the third ad in a row. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a living room, two people in front of the tv with a remote. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Дај ми даљински, хоћу да променим канал. Ово је трећа реклама заредом.Daj mi daljinski, hoću da promenim kanal. Ovo je treća reklama zaredom.Give me the remote, I want to change the channel. This is the third ad in a row.
- На другом је директан пренос утакмице, а на трећем нека нова серија.Na drugom je direktan prenos utakmice, a na trećem neka nova serija.On channel two there's a live match, and on channel three some new series.
- Серију сам већ почео да гледам. Пуштај трећи, само укључи титлове.Seriju sam već počeo da gledam. Puštaj treći, samo uključi titlove.I've already started the series. Put on channel three, just turn on the subtitles.
- Чекај, прво иду вести. Кажу да је влада усвојила нови закон.Čekaj, prvo idu vesti. Kažu da je vlada usvojila novi zakon.Wait, the news first. They say the government passed a new law.
- Тај водитељ увек претерује. Волео бих да чујем и други извор.Taj voditelj uvek preteruje. Voleo bih da čujem i drugi izvor.This anchor always exaggerates. I'd like to hear another source too.
- Углавном, свака емисија прича своје. Зато и читам новине са мреже.Uglavnom, svaka emisija priča svoje. Zato i čitam novine sa mreže.In short, every show tells its own story. That's why I read the newspapers online.
- На мрежама је још горе. Тамо се гласина прошири за пола сата.Na mrežama je još gore. Tamo se glasina proširi za pola sata.Online it's even worse. A rumor spreads there in half an hour.
- Делимично се слажем. Ипак, тамо бар видиш неколико извора, а не само један.Delimično se slažem. Ipak, tamo bar vidiš nekoliko izvora, a ne samo jedan.I partly agree. Still, there you see at least several sources, not just one.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Дај ми даљински, хоћу да променим канал. Ово је трећа реклама заредом. | Daj mi daljinski, hoću da promenim kanal. Ovo je treća reklama zaredom. | Give me the remote, I want to change the channel. This is the third ad in a row. |
| На другом је директан пренос утакмице, а на трећем нека нова серија. | Na drugom je direktan prenos utakmice, a na trećem neka nova serija. | On channel two there's a live match, and on channel three some new series. |
| Серију сам већ почео да гледам. Пуштај трећи, само укључи титлове. | Seriju sam već počeo da gledam. Puštaj treći, samo uključi titlove. | I've already started the series. Put on channel three, just turn on the subtitles. |
| Чекај, прво иду вести. Кажу да је влада усвојила нови закон. | Čekaj, prvo idu vesti. Kažu da je vlada usvojila novi zakon. | Wait, the news first. They say the government passed a new law. |
| Тај водитељ увек претерује. Волео бих да чујем и други извор. | Taj voditelj uvek preteruje. Voleo bih da čujem i drugi izvor. | This anchor always exaggerates. I'd like to hear another source too. |
| Углавном, свака емисија прича своје. Зато и читам новине са мреже. | Uglavnom, svaka emisija priča svoje. Zato i čitam novine sa mreže. | In short, every show tells its own story. That's why I read the newspapers online. |
| На мрежама је још горе. Тамо се гласина прошири за пола сата. | Na mrežama je još gore. Tamo se glasina proširi za pola sata. | Online it's even worse. A rumor spreads there in half an hour. |
| Делимично се слажем. Ипак, тамо бар видиш неколико извора, а не само један. | Delimično se slažem. Ipak, tamo bar vidiš nekoliko izvora, a ne samo jedan. | I partly agree. Still, there you see at least several sources, not just one. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“Дај ми даљински, хоћу да променим канал. Ово је трећа реклама заредом.” (Daj mi daljinski, hoću da promenim kanal. Ovo je treća reklama zaredom.) — Give me the remote, I want to change the channel. This is the third ad in a row.. 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.