LingoflyTelling the story in Georgian
A friend tells how he almost missed the train in Georgian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «რა (ra) მოხდა (mokhda)? სახეზე (sakheze) გეტყობა.» — What happened? It shows on your face; «საქმე ასე იყო (sakme ase iqo): ერთხელაც (ertkhelats) ტაქსი (taksi) ვერ (ver) ვიშოვე.» — Here's what happened: once I couldn't find a taxi. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a friend tells how he almost missed the train. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- sakme ase iqo: ertkhelats taksi ver vishove.Here's what happened: once I couldn't find a taxi.
- moulodnelad tsvima tsamovida da avtobusits gviandeboda.Suddenly it started to rain, and the bus was late too.
- zustad. bolo tsuts shevkhti vagonshi. is tsuti akhlats tvaltsin midgas.Exactly. At the last minute I jumped into the carriage. I see that minute as if it were now.
- gagimartla shen. aseti ambavi nakhvad ghirs, ara moqolad.Lucky you. A story like that is worth seeing, not telling.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| რა (ra) მოხდა (mokhda)? სახეზე (sakheze) გეტყობა. | ra mokhda? sakheze getqoba. | What happened? It shows on your face. |
| საქმე ასე იყო (sakme ase iqo): ერთხელაც (ertkhelats) ტაქსი (taksi) ვერ (ver) ვიშოვე. | sakme ase iqo: ertkhelats taksi ver vishove. | Here's what happened: once I couldn't find a taxi. |
| და (da) მერე (mere)? თანმიმდევრობით (tanmimdevrobit) მიამბე (miambe). | da mere? tanmimdevrobit miambe. | And then? Tell me in order. |
| მოულოდნელად (moulodnelad) წვიმა (tsvima) წამოვიდა და (da) ავტობუსიც გვიანდებოდა. | moulodnelad tsvima tsamovida da avtobusits gviandeboda. | Suddenly it started to rain, and the bus was late too. |
| და (da) კინაღამ (kinagham) ვერ (ver) მოასწარი? | da kinagham ver moastsari? | And you almost missed it? |
| ზუსტად (zustad). ბოლო წუთს (bolo tsuts) შევხტი ვაგონში (vagonshi). ის (is) წუთი (tsuti) ახლაც თვალწინ მიდგას (akhlats tvaltsin midgas). | zustad. bolo tsuts shevkhti vagonshi. is tsuti akhlats tvaltsin midgas. | Exactly. At the last minute I jumped into the carriage. I see that minute as if it were now. |
| გაგიმართლა შენ (shen). ასეთი (aseti) ამბავი (ambavi) ნახვად ღირს (nakhvad ghirs), არა (ara) მოყოლად. | gagimartla shen. aseti ambavi nakhvad ghirs, ara moqolad. | Lucky you. A story like that is worth seeing, not telling. |
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 Georgian in this situation?
“რა (ra) მოხდა (mokhda)? სახეზე (sakheze) გეტყობა.” (ra mokhda? sakheze getqoba.) — What happened? It shows on your face. 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.