About the new worker in Urdu
Two colleagues at the break discuss what the new man is like in the work in Urdu. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «نئے ورکر کیسے کام کرتے ہیں؟» — How does the new worker work?; «بہت ٹھیک، صرف تھوڑے تنہا پسند ہیں۔» — Very well — only a little reserved.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues at the break discuss what the new man is like in the work. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- نئے ورکر کیسے کام کرتے ہیں؟nae werkar kaise kam kerte hain?How does the new worker work?
- بہت ٹھیک، صرف تھوڑے تنہا پسند ہیں۔behot thik, sirf thore tanha psand hain.Very well — only a little reserved.
- مجھے لگتا ہے وہ شرمیلا ہیں۔mujhe lagta hai wo sharmila hain.It seems to me he is bashful.
- ہاں، مگر کام میں بہت پرعزم ہیں۔han, magar kam main behot perazm hain.Yes, but in the work very resolute.
- پچھلے ہفتے انہوں نے مشین کی خرابی پکڑی۔pichhle hafte inhon ne mashin ki kharabi pakri.Last week he caught a defect of the machine.
- یہی تو کہا، باریک بین ہیں۔yehi to kyaha, barik bin hain.I keep saying: meticulous.
- کیا ان سے مل جل کر رہنا آسان ہے؟kya in se mil dzhal kar rehna asan hai?Is it easy to get along with them?
- بالکل، نرم مزاج ہیں، صرف بات کم کرتے ہیں۔balkal, naryam mazadzh hain, sirf bat kam kerte hain.Certainly — placid; they simply speak little.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| نئے ورکر کیسے کام کرتے ہیں؟ | nae werkar kaise kam kerte hain? | How does the new worker work? |
| بہت ٹھیک، صرف تھوڑے تنہا پسند ہیں۔ | behot thik, sirf thore tanha psand hain. | Very well — only a little reserved. |
| مجھے لگتا ہے وہ شرمیلا ہیں۔ | mujhe lagta hai wo sharmila hain. | It seems to me he is bashful. |
| ہاں، مگر کام میں بہت پرعزم ہیں۔ | han, magar kam main behot perazm hain. | Yes, but in the work very resolute. |
| پچھلے ہفتے انہوں نے مشین کی خرابی پکڑی۔ | pichhle hafte inhon ne mashin ki kharabi pakri. | Last week he caught a defect of the machine. |
| یہی تو کہا، باریک بین ہیں۔ | yehi to kyaha, barik bin hain. | I keep saying: meticulous. |
| کیا ان سے مل جل کر رہنا آسان ہے؟ | kya in se mil dzhal kar rehna asan hai? | Is it easy to get along with them? |
| بالکل، نرم مزاج ہیں، صرف بات کم کرتے ہیں۔ | balkal, naryam mazadzh hain, sirf bat kam kerte hain. | Certainly — placid; they simply speak little. |
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 Urdu in this situation?
“نئے ورکر کیسے کام کرتے ہیں؟” (nae werkar kaise kam kerte hain?) — How does the new worker work? 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.