Tickets for the play in Serbian
At the theater box office: choosing seats for the premiere in Serbian. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Добар дан, имате ли још карата за премијеру у петак?» — Good afternoon, are there still tickets for the Friday premiere?; «Има, али само у трећем реду и на балкону.» — There are, but only in the third row and on the balcony. 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: at the theater box office: choosing seats for the premiere. 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.
- Добар дан, имате ли још карата за премијеру у петак?Dobar dan, imate li još karata za premijeru u petak?Good afternoon, are there still tickets for the Friday premiere?
- Има, али само у трећем реду и на балкону.Ima, ali samo u trećem redu i na balkonu.There are, but only in the third row and on the balcony.
- А колико се види позорница са балкона? Први пут смо овде.A koliko se vidi pozornica sa balkona? Prvi put smo ovde.And how well can you see the stage from the balcony? It's our first time here.
- Види се цела, само су глумци даље. Звук је свуда исти.Vidi se cela, samo su glumci dalje. Zvuk je svuda isti.You can see all of it; the actors are just farther away. The sound is the same everywhere.
- Ко је редитељ? Читао сам да је улога главног јунака тешка.Ko je reditelj? Čitao sam da je uloga glavnog junaka teška.Who's the director? I read that the lead role is demanding.
- Млад редитељ из Новог Сада. Представа траје сат и по, без паузе.Mlad reditelj iz Novog Sada. Predstava traje sat i po, bez pauze.A young director from Novi Sad. The play runs an hour and a half, without an intermission.
- Узећу два места у трећем реду. Има ли попуста за студенте?Uzeću dva mesta u trećem redu. Ima li popusta za studente?I'll take two seats in the third row. Is there a student discount?
- Има, двадесет посто уз индекс. Показаћете га на улазу.Ima, dvadeset posto uz indeks. Pokazaćete ga na ulazu.There is, twenty percent with a student ID. Show it at the entrance.
- Хвала. Има ли плакат који бих могао да фотографишем?Hvala. Ima li plakat koji bih mogao da fotografišem?Thanks. Is there a poster I could photograph?
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Добар дан, имате ли још карата за премијеру у петак? | Dobar dan, imate li još karata za premijeru u petak? | Good afternoon, are there still tickets for the Friday premiere? |
| Има, али само у трећем реду и на балкону. | Ima, ali samo u trećem redu i na balkonu. | There are, but only in the third row and on the balcony. |
| А колико се види позорница са балкона? Први пут смо овде. | A koliko se vidi pozornica sa balkona? Prvi put smo ovde. | And how well can you see the stage from the balcony? It's our first time here. |
| Види се цела, само су глумци даље. Звук је свуда исти. | Vidi se cela, samo su glumci dalje. Zvuk je svuda isti. | You can see all of it; the actors are just farther away. The sound is the same everywhere. |
| Ко је редитељ? Читао сам да је улога главног јунака тешка. | Ko je reditelj? Čitao sam da je uloga glavnog junaka teška. | Who's the director? I read that the lead role is demanding. |
| Млад редитељ из Новог Сада. Представа траје сат и по, без паузе. | Mlad reditelj iz Novog Sada. Predstava traje sat i po, bez pauze. | A young director from Novi Sad. The play runs an hour and a half, without an intermission. |
| Узећу два места у трећем реду. Има ли попуста за студенте? | Uzeću dva mesta u trećem redu. Ima li popusta za studente? | I'll take two seats in the third row. Is there a student discount? |
| Има, двадесет посто уз индекс. Показаћете га на улазу. | Ima, dvadeset posto uz indeks. Pokazaćete ga na ulazu. | There is, twenty percent with a student ID. Show it at the entrance. |
| Хвала. Има ли плакат који бих могао да фотографишем? | Hvala. Ima li plakat koji bih mogao da fotografišem? | Thanks. Is there a poster I could photograph? |
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?
“Добар дан, имате ли још карата за премијеру у петак?” (Dobar dan, imate li još karata za premijeru u petak?) — Good afternoon, are there still tickets for the Friday premiere?. 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.