What's the new colleague like? in Serbian
Two colleagues discuss the new employee during a break in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Јеси ли упознала новог колегу? Како ти изгледа?» — Have you met the new colleague? What does he seem like to you?; «Јесам. Висок је и потпуно ћелав, никако средње висине.» — Yes. He's tall and completely bald, not medium-height at all. 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: two colleagues discuss the new employee during a break. 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.
- Јеси ли упознала новог колегу? Како ти изгледа?Jesi li upoznala novog kolegu? Kako ti izgleda?Have you met the new colleague? What does he seem like to you?
- Јесам. Висок је и потпуно ћелав, никако средње висине.Jesam. Visok je i potpuno ćelav, nikako srednje visine.Yes. He's tall and completely bald, not medium-height at all.
- Мене занима какав је као човек, а не како изгледа.Mene zanima kakav je kao čovek, a ne kako izgleda.I'm interested in what kind of person he is, not how he looks.
- Вредан је и врло стрпљив. Није ме ниједном прекинуо док сам објашњавала.Vredan je i vrlo strpljiv. Nije me nijednom prekinuo dok sam objašnjavala.Hardworking and very patient. He never interrupted me once while I was explaining.
- То је добро. Претходни је био прилично дрзак и стално се хвалио.To je dobro. Prethodni je bio prilično drzak i stalno se hvalio.That's good. The previous one was quite pushy and kept bragging.
- Овај је скроман. Само је мало расејан, заборавио је лозинку први дан.Ovaj je skroman. Samo je malo rasejan, zaboravio je lozinku prvi dan.This one is modest. Just a bit absent-minded; he forgot his password on the first day.
- Свима се то дешава. Има ли смисао за хумор? С тим се лакше ради.Svima se to dešava. Ima li smisao za humor? S tim se lakše radi.That happens to everyone. Does he have a sense of humor? It's easier to work with someone who does.
- Има, и нимало није брбљив. Мислим да ћемо се лепо слагати.Ima, i nimalo nije brbljiv. Mislim da ćemo se lepo slagati.He does, and he isn't talkative at all. I think we'll work well together.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Јеси ли упознала новог колегу? Како ти изгледа? | Jesi li upoznala novog kolegu? Kako ti izgleda? | Have you met the new colleague? What does he seem like to you? |
| Јесам. Висок је и потпуно ћелав, никако средње висине. | Jesam. Visok je i potpuno ćelav, nikako srednje visine. | Yes. He's tall and completely bald, not medium-height at all. |
| Мене занима какав је као човек, а не како изгледа. | Mene zanima kakav je kao čovek, a ne kako izgleda. | I'm interested in what kind of person he is, not how he looks. |
| Вредан је и врло стрпљив. Није ме ниједном прекинуо док сам објашњавала. | Vredan je i vrlo strpljiv. Nije me nijednom prekinuo dok sam objašnjavala. | Hardworking and very patient. He never interrupted me once while I was explaining. |
| То је добро. Претходни је био прилично дрзак и стално се хвалио. | To je dobro. Prethodni je bio prilično drzak i stalno se hvalio. | That's good. The previous one was quite pushy and kept bragging. |
| Овај је скроман. Само је мало расејан, заборавио је лозинку први дан. | Ovaj je skroman. Samo je malo rasejan, zaboravio je lozinku prvi dan. | This one is modest. Just a bit absent-minded; he forgot his password on the first day. |
| Свима се то дешава. Има ли смисао за хумор? С тим се лакше ради. | Svima se to dešava. Ima li smisao za humor? S tim se lakše radi. | That happens to everyone. Does he have a sense of humor? It's easier to work with someone who does. |
| Има, и нимало није брбљив. Мислим да ћемо се лепо слагати. | Ima, i nimalo nije brbljiv. Mislim da ćemo se lepo slagati. | He does, and he isn't talkative at all. I think we'll work well together. |
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?
“Јеси ли упознала новог колегу? Како ти изгледа?” (Jesi li upoznala novog kolegu? Kako ti izgleda?) — Have you met the new colleague? What does he seem like to you?. 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.