How is the work going? in Turkish
Two colleagues discussing how the work is progressing in Turkish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Projede neredeyiz? Bitirebilecek miyiz?» — Where are we in the project? Will we finish in time?; «Programdaki geri kalma büyüdü ama pes etmiyoruz.» — The lag behind the schedule has grown, but we're not giving up. 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 discussing how the work is progressing. 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.
- Projede neredeyiz? Bitirebilecek miyiz?Where are we in the project? Will we finish in time?
- Programdaki geri kalma büyüdü ama pes etmiyoruz.The lag behind the schedule has grown, but we're not giving up.
- Sorun ne? Bir aksaklık mı çıktı?What's the matter? Did something go wrong?
- Tedarikçi teslimi sürüncemede bıraktı, iki hafta kaybettik.The supplier delayed the delivery, we lost two weeks.
- Peki şimdi ne yapıyoruz, sıfırdan mı başlıyoruz?So what do we do now, start from scratch?
- Hayır. Planı yeniden başlattık ve masrafları azalttık.No. We restarted the plan and cut the expenses.
- Yağmuru ve nakliyeyi de göz önünde bulundurdunuz mu?Did you factor in the rain and the transport too?
- Bulundurduk. Israrla çalışırsak ayın sonunda tamamlarız.We did. If we work persistently, we'll finish by the end of the month.
Lines one by one
| Turkish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Projede neredeyiz? Bitirebilecek miyiz? | — | Where are we in the project? Will we finish in time? |
| Programdaki geri kalma büyüdü ama pes etmiyoruz. | — | The lag behind the schedule has grown, but we're not giving up. |
| Sorun ne? Bir aksaklık mı çıktı? | — | What's the matter? Did something go wrong? |
| Tedarikçi teslimi sürüncemede bıraktı, iki hafta kaybettik. | — | The supplier delayed the delivery, we lost two weeks. |
| Peki şimdi ne yapıyoruz, sıfırdan mı başlıyoruz? | — | So what do we do now, start from scratch? |
| Hayır. Planı yeniden başlattık ve masrafları azalttık. | — | No. We restarted the plan and cut the expenses. |
| Yağmuru ve nakliyeyi de göz önünde bulundurdunuz mu? | — | Did you factor in the rain and the transport too? |
| Bulundurduk. Israrla çalışırsak ayın sonunda tamamlarız. | — | We did. If we work persistently, we'll finish by the end of the month. |
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 Turkish in this situation?
“Projede neredeyiz? Bitirebilecek miyiz?” — Where are we in the project? Will we finish in time?. 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.