LingoflyTalking about the new colleague in Ukrainian
Two people discuss a person's character in Ukrainian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Як (yak) тобі (tobi) новий (novyi) співробітник (spivrobitnyk)?» — What do you make of the new colleague?; «Працьовитий (pratsovytyi) і (i) надійний (nadiinyi), але (ale) трохи (trokhy) балакучий (balakuchyi).» — Hardworking and reliable, but a bit talkative. 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 people discuss a person's character. 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.
Lines one by one
| Ukrainian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Як (yak) тобі (tobi) новий (novyi) співробітник (spivrobitnyk)? | Yak tobi novyi spivrobitnyk? | What do you make of the new colleague? |
| Працьовитий (pratsovytyi) і (i) надійний (nadiinyi), але (ale) трохи (trokhy) балакучий (balakuchyi). | Pratsovytyi i nadiinyi, ale trokhy balakuchyi. | Hardworking and reliable, but a bit talkative. |
| Балакучий (balakuchyi) — не (ne) найгірше (naihirshe). Головне (holovne), що (Shcho) не (ne) байдужий (baiduzhyi). | Balakuchyi — ne naihirshe. Holovne, shcho ne baiduzhyi. | Talkative isn't the worst. The main thing is that he isn't indifferent. |
| Згоден (zghoden). І (i) він (vin) терплячий (terpliachyi), пояснює (poiasniuie) по (po) три (try) рази (razy). | Zghoden. I vin terpliachyi, poiasniuie po try razy. | Agreed. And he's patient; he explains three times over. |
| А (a) керівник (Kerivnyk)? Кажуть (Kazhut), запальний (zapalnyi). | A kerivnyk? Kazhut, zapalnyi. | And the manager? They say he's hot-tempered. |
| Буває (buvaie). Але (ale) лаяти (laiaty) при (pry) людях (liudiakh) не (ne) стане. | Buvaie. Ale laiaty pry liudiakh ne stane. | It happens. But he won't scold you in front of others. |
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 noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.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 Ukrainian in this situation?
“Як (yak) тобі (tobi) новий (novyi) співробітник (spivrobitnyk)?” (Yak tobi novyi spivrobitnyk?) — What do you make of the new colleague? 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.