Clarifying over the phone in Georgian
A call about business: the person is hard to hear, one has to clarify and politely decline in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «გამარჯობა, ერთ საკითხზე მოგმართავთ. ერთი წუთი გაქვთ?» — Hello, I'm calling about one matter. Do you have a minute?; «დიახ, გისმენთ. ოღონდ ხმა სუსტად მესმის.» — Yes, I'm listening. I just hear your voice faintly. 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: a call about business: the person is hard to hear, one has to clarify and politely decline. 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, ერთ საკითხზე მოგმართავთ. ერთი წუთი გაქვთ?gamarjoba, ert sakitkhze mogmartavt. erti tsuti gakvt?Hello, I'm calling about one matter. Do you have a minute?
- დიახ, გისმენთ. ოღონდ ხმა სუსტად მესმის.diakh, gisment. oghond khma sustad mesmis.Yes, I'm listening. I just hear your voice faintly.
- საქმე ისაა, რომ ხვალინდელი შეხვედრა უნდა გადაიდოს.sakme isaa, rom khvalindeli shekhvedra unda gadaidos.The thing is, tomorrow's meeting needs to be postponed.
- უკაცრავად, რა ბრძანეთ? სწორად გავიგე, გადაიდება?ukatsravad, ra brdzanet? stsorad gavige, gadaideba?Sorry, what did you say? Did I understand right — it's being moved?
- დიახ. გულისხმობთ ხუთშაბათს? მე სწორედ ამას ვგულისხმობ.diakh. guliskhmobt khutshabats? me stsored amas vguliskhmob.Yes. Do you mean Thursday? That's exactly what I mean.
- ვშიშობ, რომ არა. ხუთშაბათს დაკავებული ვარ.vshishob, rom ara. khutshabats dakavebuli var.I'm afraid not. I'm busy on Thursday.
- იქნებ სხვა დროს? გვარი ასოებით, თუ შეიძლება, ჩავიწერ.ikneb skhva dros? gvari asoebit, tu sheidzleba, chavitser.Maybe another time? Your last name letter by letter, please, I'll write it down.
- კარგი. სასიამოვნო იყო საუბარი, კავშირზე ვიქნებით.kargi. sasiamovno iqo saubari, kavshirze viknebit.Okay. It was nice talking, talk to you soon.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა, ერთ საკითხზე მოგმართავთ. ერთი წუთი გაქვთ? | gamarjoba, ert sakitkhze mogmartavt. erti tsuti gakvt? | Hello, I'm calling about one matter. Do you have a minute? |
| დიახ, გისმენთ. ოღონდ ხმა სუსტად მესმის. | diakh, gisment. oghond khma sustad mesmis. | Yes, I'm listening. I just hear your voice faintly. |
| საქმე ისაა, რომ ხვალინდელი შეხვედრა უნდა გადაიდოს. | sakme isaa, rom khvalindeli shekhvedra unda gadaidos. | The thing is, tomorrow's meeting needs to be postponed. |
| უკაცრავად, რა ბრძანეთ? სწორად გავიგე, გადაიდება? | ukatsravad, ra brdzanet? stsorad gavige, gadaideba? | Sorry, what did you say? Did I understand right — it's being moved? |
| დიახ. გულისხმობთ ხუთშაბათს? მე სწორედ ამას ვგულისხმობ. | diakh. guliskhmobt khutshabats? me stsored amas vguliskhmob. | Yes. Do you mean Thursday? That's exactly what I mean. |
| ვშიშობ, რომ არა. ხუთშაბათს დაკავებული ვარ. | vshishob, rom ara. khutshabats dakavebuli var. | I'm afraid not. I'm busy on Thursday. |
| იქნებ სხვა დროს? გვარი ასოებით, თუ შეიძლება, ჩავიწერ. | ikneb skhva dros? gvari asoebit, tu sheidzleba, chavitser. | Maybe another time? Your last name letter by letter, please, I'll write it down. |
| კარგი. სასიამოვნო იყო საუბარი, კავშირზე ვიქნებით. | kargi. sasiamovno iqo saubari, kavshirze viknebit. | Okay. It was nice talking, talk to you soon. |
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, ერთ საკითხზე მოგმართავთ. ერთი წუთი გაქვთ?” (gamarjoba, ert sakitkhze mogmartavt. erti tsuti gakvt?) — Hello, I'm calling about one matter. Do you have a minute?. 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.