An argument at the meeting in Serbian
A work meeting: two people argue over a client's proposal and raise their voices in Serbian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «По мом мишљењу, треба да одбијемо ту понуду.» — In my opinion, we should reject this proposal.; «Не слажем се. Који ти је аргумент, осим осећаја?» — I disagree. What's your argument, besides a feeling? 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 work meeting: two people argue over a client's proposal and raise their voices. 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.
- По мом мишљењу, треба да одбијемо ту понуду.Po mom mišljenju, treba da odbijemo tu ponudu.In my opinion, we should reject this proposal.
- Не слажем се. Који ти је аргумент, осим осећаја?Ne slažem se. Koji ti je argument, osim osećaja?I disagree. What's your argument, besides a feeling?
- Чињеница је да цена расте, а рок се скраћује. То је довољно.Činjenica je da cena raste, a rok se skraćuje. To je dovoljno.The fact is the price is rising and the deadline is shrinking. That's enough.
- Ја бих ипак узео у обзир и предности: клијент је велик и плаћа на време.Ja bih ipak uzeo u obzir i prednosti: klijent je velik i plaća na vreme.I would still factor in the advantages: the client is big and pays on time.
- Инсистирам на писаном одговору од њих пре него што одлучимо.Insistiram na pisanom odgovoru od njih pre nego što odlučimo.I insist on a written reply from them before we decide.
- То је разуман предлог. Али немој да подижеш глас, нико те не напада.To je razuman predlog. Ali nemoj da podižeš glas, niko te ne napada.That's a reasonable proposal. But don't raise your voice; nobody is attacking you.
- Извини, био сам груб. Признајем грешку, лоше сам то поднео.Izvini, bio sam grub. Priznajem grešku, loše sam to podneo.Sorry, I was rude. I admit the mistake; I took it badly.
- У реду. Онда ћемо донети одлуку кад стигне писани одговор.U redu. Onda ćemo doneti odluku kad stigne pisani odgovor.Okay. Then we'll make the decision when the written reply arrives.
Lines one by one
| Serbian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| По мом мишљењу, треба да одбијемо ту понуду. | Po mom mišljenju, treba da odbijemo tu ponudu. | In my opinion, we should reject this proposal. |
| Не слажем се. Који ти је аргумент, осим осећаја? | Ne slažem se. Koji ti je argument, osim osećaja? | I disagree. What's your argument, besides a feeling? |
| Чињеница је да цена расте, а рок се скраћује. То је довољно. | Činjenica je da cena raste, a rok se skraćuje. To je dovoljno. | The fact is the price is rising and the deadline is shrinking. That's enough. |
| Ја бих ипак узео у обзир и предности: клијент је велик и плаћа на време. | Ja bih ipak uzeo u obzir i prednosti: klijent je velik i plaća na vreme. | I would still factor in the advantages: the client is big and pays on time. |
| Инсистирам на писаном одговору од њих пре него што одлучимо. | Insistiram na pisanom odgovoru od njih pre nego što odlučimo. | I insist on a written reply from them before we decide. |
| То је разуман предлог. Али немој да подижеш глас, нико те не напада. | To je razuman predlog. Ali nemoj da podižeš glas, niko te ne napada. | That's a reasonable proposal. But don't raise your voice; nobody is attacking you. |
| Извини, био сам груб. Признајем грешку, лоше сам то поднео. | Izvini, bio sam grub. Priznajem grešku, loše sam to podneo. | Sorry, I was rude. I admit the mistake; I took it badly. |
| У реду. Онда ћемо донети одлуку кад стигне писани одговор. | U redu. Onda ćemo doneti odluku kad stigne pisani odgovor. | Okay. Then we'll make the decision when the written reply arrives. |
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?
“По мом мишљењу, треба да одбијемо ту понуду.” (Po mom mišljenju, treba da odbijemo tu ponudu.) — In my opinion, we should reject this proposal.. 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.