A wedding invitation in Georgian
The neighbor invites me to her nephew's wedding in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «გამარჯობა, დეიდა! თავისუფალი ხართ?» — Hello, auntie! Are you free?; «თავისუფალი ვარ. ქორწილში მინდოდა შენი მოწვევა.» — I am. I was just about to invite you to a wedding. 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: the neighbor invites me to her nephew's wedding. 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.
- გამარჯობა, დეიდა! თავისუფალი ხართ?gamarjoba, deida! tavisupali khart?Hello, auntie! Are you free?
- თავისუფალი ვარ. ქორწილში მინდოდა შენი მოწვევა.tavisupali var. kortsilshi mindoda sheni motsveva.I am. I was just about to invite you to a wedding.
- გილოცავთ! ვინ ქორწინდება?gilotsavt! vin kortsindeba?Congratulations! Who's getting married?
- ჩემი ბიძაშვილის ვაჟი. ქორწილი შაბათს იქნება.chemi bidzashvilis vazhi. kortsili shabats ikneba.My cousin's son. The wedding is on Saturday.
- ეროვნული სამოსი უნდა ჩავიცვა?erovnuli samosi unda chavitsva?Should I wear national dress?
- სავალდებულო არ არის, მაგრამ კარგი იქნება. ხალხური ცეკვა იქნება.savaldebulo ar aris, magram kargi ikneba. khalkhuri tsekva ikneba.Not required, but it would be nice. There will be a folk dance.
- საჩუქრად რა მოვიტანო?sachukrad ra movitano?What should I bring as a gift?
- მოსაწვევში წერია. წაიკითხავ და გაიგებ.mosatsvevshi tseria. tsaikitkhav da gaigeb.It's written in the invitation. Read it and you'll find out.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა, დეიდა! თავისუფალი ხართ? | gamarjoba, deida! tavisupali khart? | Hello, auntie! Are you free? |
| თავისუფალი ვარ. ქორწილში მინდოდა შენი მოწვევა. | tavisupali var. kortsilshi mindoda sheni motsveva. | I am. I was just about to invite you to a wedding. |
| გილოცავთ! ვინ ქორწინდება? | gilotsavt! vin kortsindeba? | Congratulations! Who's getting married? |
| ჩემი ბიძაშვილის ვაჟი. ქორწილი შაბათს იქნება. | chemi bidzashvilis vazhi. kortsili shabats ikneba. | My cousin's son. The wedding is on Saturday. |
| ეროვნული სამოსი უნდა ჩავიცვა? | erovnuli samosi unda chavitsva? | Should I wear national dress? |
| სავალდებულო არ არის, მაგრამ კარგი იქნება. ხალხური ცეკვა იქნება. | savaldebulo ar aris, magram kargi ikneba. khalkhuri tsekva ikneba. | Not required, but it would be nice. There will be a folk dance. |
| საჩუქრად რა მოვიტანო? | sachukrad ra movitano? | What should I bring as a gift? |
| მოსაწვევში წერია. წაიკითხავ და გაიგებ. | mosatsvevshi tseria. tsaikitkhav da gaigeb. | It's written in the invitation. Read it and you'll find out. |
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?
“გამარჯობა, დეიდა! თავისუფალი ხართ?” (gamarjoba, deida! tavisupali khart?) — Hello, auntie! Are you free?. 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.