LingoflyAt the service center in Georgian
A customer brings in a phone for repair and asks about timing in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «გამარჯობა (gamarjoba). ტელეფონი აღარ იტენება (teleponi aghar iteneba) და (da) ხურდება (khurdeba).» — Hello. My phone won't charge and it heats up; «გამარჯობა (gamarjoba). დიაგნოსტიკა უფასოა (diagnostika upasoa), ერთი (erti) საათი (saati) სჭირდება (schirdeba).» — Hello. Diagnostics are free, it takes an hour. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a customer brings in a phone for repair and asks about timing. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- gamarjoba. diagnostika upasoa, erti saati schirdeba.Hello. Diagnostics are free, it takes an hour.
- ეკრანზეც ბზარია და ხმა ხანდახან ქრება.ekranzets bzaria da khma khandakhan kreba.There's also a crack on the screen, and the sound sometimes drops out.
- satadarigo natsili gvakvs. detalis shetsvla sachiroa.We have the part in stock. The component needs replacing.
- remontis ghirebuleba da vada ramdenia?What's the cost and the repair time?
- კარგი. სარეზერვო ასლი ჯერ გავაკეთო?kargi. sarezervo asli jer gavaketo?Okay. Should I make a backup first?
- autsileblad. ganatskhadis gapormeba akhla shegvidzlia.Definitely. We can file the request right now.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა (gamarjoba). ტელეფონი აღარ იტენება (teleponi aghar iteneba) და (da) ხურდება (khurdeba). | gamarjoba. teleponi aghar iteneba da khurdeba. | Hello. My phone won't charge and it heats up. |
| გამარჯობა (gamarjoba). დიაგნოსტიკა უფასოა (diagnostika upasoa), ერთი (erti) საათი (saati) სჭირდება (schirdeba). | gamarjoba. diagnostika upasoa, erti saati schirdeba. | Hello. Diagnostics are free, it takes an hour. |
| ეკრანზეც ბზარია და (da) ხმა (khma) ხანდახან ქრება. | ekranzets bzaria da khma khandakhan kreba. | There's also a crack on the screen, and the sound sometimes drops out. |
| სათადარიგო ნაწილი (satadarigo natsili) გვაქვს (gvakvs). დეტალის შეცვლა (detalis shetsvla) საჭიროა (sachiroa). | satadarigo natsili gvakvs. detalis shetsvla sachiroa. | We have the part in stock. The component needs replacing. |
| რემონტის ღირებულება (remontis ghirebuleba) და (da) ვადა (vada) რამდენია (ramdenia)? | remontis ghirebuleba da vada ramdenia? | What's the cost and the repair time? |
| ას (as) ოთხმოცი (otkhmotsi) ლარი (lari), ვადა (vada) სამი (sami) დღე (dghe). საგარანტიო რემონტი (sagarantio remonti) აღარ (aghar) ვრცელდება (vrtseldeba). | as otkhmotsi lari, vada sami dghe. sagarantio remonti aghar vrtseldeba. | One hundred eighty lari, three days. The warranty no longer covers the repair. |
| კარგი (kargi). სარეზერვო ასლი (sarezervo asli) ჯერ (jer) გავაკეთო? | kargi. sarezervo asli jer gavaketo? | Okay. Should I make a backup first? |
| აუცილებლად (autsileblad). განაცხადის გაფორმება (ganatskhadis gapormeba) ახლა (akhla) შეგვიძლია. | autsileblad. ganatskhadis gapormeba akhla shegvidzlia. | Definitely. We can file the request right now. |
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?
“გამარჯობა (gamarjoba). ტელეფონი აღარ იტენება (teleponi aghar iteneba) და (da) ხურდება (khurdeba).” (gamarjoba. teleponi aghar iteneba da khurdeba.) — Hello. My phone won't charge and it heats up. 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.