LingoflyOne week before the wedding in Georgian
Two relatives divide the tasks before the wedding in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «სუფრის გაშლა (supris gashla) ვის დაევალა?» — Who was assigned to set the table?; «დეიდას. ჩვენ (chven) სახლის მორთვა (sakhlis mortva) და (da) ბუშტები დაგვრჩა (dagvrcha).» — Auntie. We're left with decorating the house and the balloons. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two relatives divide the tasks before the wedding. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- deidas. chven sakhlis mortva da bushtebi dagvrcha.Auntie. We're left with decorating the house and the balloons.
- jer ara. kortsilshi puli sachukrad miakvt, asea mighebuli.Not yet. Money is brought as a gift to weddings, that's the custom.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| სუფრის გაშლა (supris gashla) ვის დაევალა? | supris gashla vis daevala? | Who was assigned to set the table? |
| დეიდას. ჩვენ (chven) სახლის მორთვა (sakhlis mortva) და (da) ბუშტები დაგვრჩა (dagvrcha). | deidas. chven sakhlis mortva da bushtebi dagvrcha. | Auntie. We're left with decorating the house and the balloons. |
| საჩუქარი (sachukari) უკვე (ukve) იყიდე? | sachukari ukve iqide? | Have you bought the gift yet? |
| ჯერ (jer) არა (ara). ქორწილში ფული საჩუქრად მიაქვთ (kortsilshi puli sachukrad miakvt), ასეა მიღებული (asea mighebuli). | jer ara. kortsilshi puli sachukrad miakvt, asea mighebuli. | Not yet. Money is brought as a gift to weddings, that's the custom. |
| მაშინ (mashin) ბარათსაც დავწერ და (da) თბილ სურვილს მივუწერ. | mashin baratsats davtser da tbil survils mivutser. | Then I'll write a card too and add a warm wish. |
| კარგი (kargi) იქნება (ikneba). თამადა (tamada) ბიძაა და (da) სადღეგრძელოებს ის (is) იტყვის. | kargi ikneba. tamada bidzaa da sadghegrdzeloebs is itqvis. | That will be good. The toastmaster is my uncle, and he will give the toasts. |
| საპატიო სტუმარი (sapatio stumari) რამდენი (ramdeni) გვყავს (gvqavs)? | sapatio stumari ramdeni gvqavs? | How many guests of honor do we have? |
| ცხრა (tskhra). ისინი (isini) თამადის (tamadis) გვერდით (gverdit) უნდა (unda) დავსვათ. | tskhra. isini tamadis gverdit unda davsvat. | Nine. They must be seated next to the toastmaster. |
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?
“სუფრის გაშლა (supris gashla) ვის დაევალა?” (supris gashla vis daevala?) — Who was assigned to set the table? 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.