LingoflyGetting there by bus and on foot in Georgian
A visitor asks a passerby for directions and figures out the bus in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «უკაცრავად, შეიძლება გკითხოთ? (ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot) მუზეუმი შორსაა აქედან?» (muzeumi shorsaa akedan) — Excuse me, may I ask you something? Is the museum far from here?; «არა (ara), ფეხით (pekhit) ათი (ati) წუთია (tsutia). გამზირს გაჰყევით.» — No, ten minutes on foot. Follow the avenue. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a visitor asks a passerby for directions and figures out the bus. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot? muzeumi shorsaa akedan?Excuse me, may I ask you something? Is the museum far from here?
- shuknishantan marjvniv, mere kuchis bolomde.Right at the traffic light, then to the end of the street.
- ver gavigone bolo sitqva. rukaze machvenet, tu sheidzleba.I didn't catch the last word. Show me on the map, please.
- ავტობუსით ჯობია? მარშრუტის ნომერი რომელია?avtobusit jobia? marshrutis nomeri romelia?Is the bus better? What's the route number?
- ოცდაერთი. მგზავრობის გადახდა ბარათით შეიძლება.otsdaerti. mgzavrobis gadakhda baratit sheidzleba.Twenty-one. You can pay the fare by card.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| უკაცრავად, შეიძლება გკითხოთ? (ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot) მუზეუმი შორსაა აქედან? (muzeumi shorsaa akedan) | ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot? muzeumi shorsaa akedan? | Excuse me, may I ask you something? Is the museum far from here? |
| არა (ara), ფეხით (pekhit) ათი (ati) წუთია (tsutia). გამზირს გაჰყევით. | ara, pekhit ati tsutia. gamzirs gahqevit. | No, ten minutes on foot. Follow the avenue. |
| გზაჯვარედინზე (gzajvaredinze) მარჯვნივ (marjvniv) თუ (tu) მარცხნივ (martskhniv) გავუხვიო? | gzajvaredinze marjvniv tu martskhniv gavukhvio? | At the crossroads, do I turn right or left? |
| შუქნიშანთან (shuknishantan) მარჯვნივ (marjvniv), მერე (mere) ქუჩის ბოლომდე (kuchis bolomde). | shuknishantan marjvniv, mere kuchis bolomde. | Right at the traffic light, then to the end of the street. |
| ვერ გავიგონე (ver gavigone) ბოლო (bolo) სიტყვა (sitqva). რუკაზე მაჩვენეთ (rukaze machvenet), თუ შეიძლება (tu sheidzleba). | ver gavigone bolo sitqva. rukaze machvenet, tu sheidzleba. | I didn't catch the last word. Show me on the map, please. |
| აი, აქ (ak). მუზეუმი (muzeumi) ხიდის პირდაპირ (pirdapir) არის (aris), სანაპიროზე (sanapiroze). | ai, ak. muzeumi khidis pirdapir aris, sanapiroze. | Here, right here. The museum is opposite the bridge, on the embankment. |
| ავტობუსით (avtobusit) ჯობია (jobia)? მარშრუტის ნომერი (marshrutis nomeri) რომელია? | avtobusit jobia? marshrutis nomeri romelia? | Is the bus better? What's the route number? |
| ოცდაერთი. მგზავრობის გადახდა ბარათით შეიძლება (mgzavrobis gadakhda baratit sheidzleba). | otsdaerti. mgzavrobis gadakhda baratit sheidzleba. | Twenty-one. You can pay the fare by card. |
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?
“უკაცრავად, შეიძლება გკითხოთ? (ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot) მუზეუმი შორსაა აქედან?” (muzeumi shorsaa akedan) (ukatsravad, sheidzleba gkitkhot? muzeumi shorsaa akedan?) — Excuse me, may I ask you something? Is the museum far from here? 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.