LingoflyOn the one hand, on the other in Georgian
Two people weigh the arguments for moving to another city in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ერთი მხრივ (erti mkhriv), იქ (ik) სამსახური (samsakhuri) უკეთესია (uketesia).» — On the one hand, the work is better there; «მეორე მხრივ (meore mkhriv), ბინის ქირა (binis kira) ორჯერ (orjer) ძვირია (dzviria).» — On the other hand, the apartment rent is twice as expensive. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people weigh the arguments for moving to another city. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- erti mkhriv, ik samsakhuri uketesia.On the one hand, the work is better there.
- meore mkhriv, binis kira orjer dzviria.On the other hand, the apartment rent is twice as expensive.
- samagierod zghva akhlosaa da zamtari rbilia.But the sea is close and the winter is mild.
- გარდა ამისა, სკოლის შეცვლა ბავშვისთვის რთულია.garda amisa, skolis shetsvla bavshvistvis rtulia.Besides, changing schools is hard for a child.
- მიუხედავად ამისა, ხელფასის განსხვავება დიდია.miukhedavad amisa, khelpasis ganskhvaveba didia.Nevertheless, the difference in salary is big.
- mokled rom vtkvat, erti tseli vtsadot da vnakhot.In short, let's try it for a year and see.
- vetankhmebi. bolos da bolos, dabruneba qoveltvis sheidzleba.Agreed. In the end, we can always come back.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ერთი მხრივ (erti mkhriv), იქ (ik) სამსახური (samsakhuri) უკეთესია (uketesia). | erti mkhriv, ik samsakhuri uketesia. | On the one hand, the work is better there. |
| მეორე მხრივ (meore mkhriv), ბინის ქირა (binis kira) ორჯერ (orjer) ძვირია (dzviria). | meore mkhriv, binis kira orjer dzviria. | On the other hand, the apartment rent is twice as expensive. |
| სამაგიეროდ (samagierod) ზღვა (zghva) ახლოსაა (akhlosaa) და (da) ზამთარი (zamtari) რბილია (rbilia). | samagierod zghva akhlosaa da zamtari rbilia. | But the sea is close and the winter is mild. |
| თუმცა (tumtsa) მეგობრები აქ (ak) დარჩებიან. ეს (es) მთავარია. | tumtsa megobrebi ak darchebian. es mtavaria. | However, our friends will stay here. That's the main thing. |
| გარდა ამისა (garda amisa), სკოლის (skolis) შეცვლა (shetsvla) ბავშვისთვის (bavshvistvis) რთულია (rtulia). | garda amisa, skolis shetsvla bavshvistvis rtulia. | Besides, changing schools is hard for a child. |
| მიუხედავად ამისა (miukhedavad amisa), ხელფასის (khelpasis) განსხვავება (ganskhvaveba) დიდია (didia). | miukhedavad amisa, khelpasis ganskhvaveba didia. | Nevertheless, the difference in salary is big. |
| მოკლედ რომ ვთქვათ (mokled rom vtkvat), ერთი (erti) წელი (tseli) ვცადოთ და (da) ვნახოთ. | mokled rom vtkvat, erti tseli vtsadot da vnakhot. | In short, let's try it for a year and see. |
| ვეთანხმები (vetankhmebi). ბოლოს და ბოლოს (bolos da bolos), დაბრუნება (dabruneba) ყოველთვის (qoveltvis) შეიძლება (sheidzleba). | vetankhmebi. bolos da bolos, dabruneba qoveltvis sheidzleba. | Agreed. In the end, we can always come back. |
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?
“ერთი მხრივ (erti mkhriv), იქ (ik) სამსახური (samsakhuri) უკეთესია (uketesia).” (erti mkhriv, ik samsakhuri uketesia.) — On the one hand, the work is better there. 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.