Before the exam in Georgian
One friend is worried, the other calms him down in Georgian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «რა მოხდა? მოწყენილი ხარ.» — What happened? You look sad.; «ხვალ გამოცდა მაქვს და ვღელავ.» — I have an exam tomorrow, and I'm nervous. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: one friend is worried, the other calms him down. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- რა მოხდა? მოწყენილი ხარ.ra mokhda? motsqenili khar.What happened? You look sad.
- ხვალ გამოცდა მაქვს და ვღელავ.khval gamotsda makvs da vghelav.I have an exam tomorrow, and I'm nervous.
- ნუ ღელავ. ჭკვიანი ხარ, ყველაფერი კარგად იქნება.nu ghelav. chkviani khar, qvelaperi kargad ikneba.Don't worry. You're smart, everything will be fine.
- ცოტა მეშინია. სახლიც მენატრება.tsota meshinia. sakhlits menatreba.I'm a little scared. And I miss home.
- გასაგებია. საღამოს ერთად ვისწავლოთ?gasagebia. saghamos ertad vistsavlot?I see. Shall we study together this evening?
- დიახ, ძალიან მიხარია. მადლობა!diakh, dzalian mikharia. madloba!Yes, I'm very glad. Thank you!
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| რა მოხდა? მოწყენილი ხარ. | ra mokhda? motsqenili khar. | What happened? You look sad. |
| ხვალ გამოცდა მაქვს და ვღელავ. | khval gamotsda makvs da vghelav. | I have an exam tomorrow, and I'm nervous. |
| ნუ ღელავ. ჭკვიანი ხარ, ყველაფერი კარგად იქნება. | nu ghelav. chkviani khar, qvelaperi kargad ikneba. | Don't worry. You're smart, everything will be fine. |
| ცოტა მეშინია. სახლიც მენატრება. | tsota meshinia. sakhlits menatreba. | I'm a little scared. And I miss home. |
| გასაგებია. საღამოს ერთად ვისწავლოთ? | gasagebia. saghamos ertad vistsavlot? | I see. Shall we study together this evening? |
| დიახ, ძალიან მიხარია. მადლობა! | diakh, dzalian mikharia. madloba! | Yes, I'm very glad. Thank you! |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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 მოხდა? მოწყენილი ხარ.” (ra mokhda? motsqenili khar.) — What happened? You look sad.. 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.