EFE learning modules / Small Talk

Small Talk @ Navigating casual conversations about the weather, daily news topics, and general lighthearted subjects to break the ice.

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Select a specific social context to practice.

Break the ice

/ብሬክ ዘ አይስ/

በረዶውን መስበር

To start a conversation in a social situation to make people feel more relaxed.

ሰዎች የበለጠ ዘና እንዲሉ ለማድረግ በማህበራዊ ሁኔታ ውስጥ ውይይት መጀመር።

In Practice

"I told a joke to break the ice."
"Let's break the ice with a quick game."
Fluent Tip

Used when starting a conversation with strangers.

Shoot the breeze

/ሹት ዘ ብሪዝ/

ንፋስ መተኮስ

To have a casual, informal conversation about nothing in particular.

ስለማንኛውም ነገር ተራ እና መደበኛ ያልሆነ ውይይት ማድረግ።

In Practice

"We sat on the porch and shot the breeze."
"They were just shooting the breeze by the water cooler."
Fluent Tip

Informal settings with friends or colleagues.

Under the weather

/አንደር ዘ ዌዘር/

ከአየር ሁኔታ በታች

Feeling slightly ill or not well.

ትንሽ መታመም ወይም ደህና አለመሆን።

In Practice

"I'm feeling a bit under the weather today."
"He stayed home because he was under the weather."
Fluent Tip

Excusing oneself from conversation or work due to health.

Catch up

/ካች አፕ/

መድረስ/መገናኘት

To talk to someone you haven't seen in a while to find out what has happened in their life.

ለረጅም ጊዜ ካላዩት ሰው ጋር በህይወቱ ምን እንደተፈጠረ ለማወቅ ማውራት።

In Practice

"We should grab coffee and catch up."
"It was great catching up with you."
Fluent Tip

When meeting old friends.

In the same boat

/ኢን ዘ ሴም ቦት/

በአንድ ጀልባ ውስጥ

To be in the same difficult situation as someone else.

ከሌላ ሰው ጋር ተመሳሳይ አስቸጋሪ ሁኔታ ውስጥ መሆን።

In Practice

"We are all in the same boat with these taxes."
"Don't worry, we are in the same boat."
Fluent Tip

Shared experiences or struggles.

Chew the fat

/ቹ ዘ ፋት/

ስብ ማኘክ

To chat in a friendly and leisurely way.

በወዳጅነት እና በትርፍ ጊዜ መወያየት።

In Practice

"They spent the afternoon chewing the fat."
"Come over and we can chew the fat for a bit."
Fluent Tip

Relaxed long-form conversation.

A breath of fresh air

/ኤ ብሬዝ ኦፍ ፍሬሽ ኤር/

የንጹህ አየር ትንፋሽ

Someone or something that is new, interesting, and exciting.

አዲስ፣ አስደሳች እና ቀስቃሽ የሆነ ሰው ወይም ነገር።

In Practice

"Her positive attitude was a breath of fresh air."
"This news is a breath of fresh air."
Fluent Tip

Describing pleasant news or people.

Get the ball rolling

/ጌት ዘ ቦል ሮሊንግ/

ኳሱን ማንከባለል መጀመር

To set an activity or process in motion.

አንድን ተግባር ወይም ሂደት ማስጀመር።

In Practice

"Who wants to get the ball rolling with a question?"
"Let's get the ball rolling on the project."
Fluent Tip

Initiating group discussion.

Off the top of my head

/ኦፍ ዘ ቶፕ ኦፍ ማይ ሄድ/

ከጭንቅላቴ ላይ

From memory, without giving it much thought.

ብዙ ሳያስቡበት፣ በትዝታ ብቻ መናገር።

In Practice

"I can't remember the name off the top of my head."
"Off the top of my head, I think there were ten people."
Fluent Tip

Sharing information quickly during small talk.

Clear the air

/ክሊር ዘ ኤር/

አየሩን ማፅዳት

To remove tension or misunderstanding between people.

በሰዎች መካከል ያለውን ውጥረት ወይም አለመግባባት ማስወገድ።

In Practice

"We need to talk to clear the air."
"The meeting helped clear the air."
Fluent Tip

Addressing awkward silences or conflicts.

Spark a conversation

/ስፓርክ ኤ ኮንቨርሴሽን/

ውይይት መለኮስ

To cause a conversation to start.

ውይይት እንዲጀምር ማድረግ።

In Practice

"The painting sparked a long conversation."
"His hat always sparks a conversation."
Fluent Tip

Describing ice-breakers.

Hit the nail on the head

/ሂት ዘ ኔል ኦን ዘ ሄድ/

ምስማሩን በራሱ ላይ መምታት

To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem.

የአንድን ሁኔታ ወይም ችግር መንስኤ በትክክል መግለፅ።

In Practice

"You hit the nail on the head with that comment."
"He really hit the nail on the head regarding the weather."
Fluent Tip

Agreeing with someone's observation.