A job interview in Georgian
An interview at a small company: what he did before and what he can do in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «დაბრძანდით. აქამდე რით იყავით დაკავებული?» — Have a seat. What have you been doing until now?; «შვიდი წელი ქარხანაში მექანიკოსად ვმუშაობდი.» — For seven years I worked as a mechanic at a factory. 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: an interview at a small company: what he did before and what he can do. 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.
- დაბრძანდით. აქამდე რით იყავით დაკავებული?dabrdzandit. akamde rit iqavit dakavebuli?Have a seat. What have you been doing until now?
- შვიდი წელი ქარხანაში მექანიკოსად ვმუშაობდი.shvidi tseli karkhanashi mekanikosad vmushaobdi.For seven years I worked as a mechanic at a factory.
- რატომ წამოხვედით? ქარხანა ხომ ჯერ კიდევ მუშაობს.ratom tsamokhvedit? karkhana khom jer kidev mushaobs.Why did you leave? The factory is still working, after all.
- წარმოება შეამცირეს და ბევრი უმუშევარი დარჩა.tsarmoeba sheamtsires da bevri umushevari darcha.Production was cut, and many were left without work.
- გასაგებია. ჩვენთან ორ ცვლაში მუშაობენ, შესვენება ნახევარი საათია.gasagebia. chventan or tsvlashi mushaoben, shesveneba nakhevari saatia.I see. We work in two shifts, the break is half an hour.
- მომწონს. მაინტერესებს ხელფასი და არის თუ არა ავანსი.momtsons. mainteresebs khelpasi da aris tu ara avansi.That suits me. I'm interested in the salary and whether there's an advance.
- ხელფასი მინიმალურზე ცოტა მაღალია, ავანსი კი თხუთმეტში გაიცემა.khelpasi minimalurze tsota maghalia, avansi ki tkhutmetshi gaitsema.The salary is a bit above minimum, and the advance is paid on the fifteenth.
- კარგი. პირველიდან დავიწყებ და საშვს შესასვლელთან ავიღებ.kargi. pirvelidan davitsqeb da sashvs shesasvleltan avigheb.Okay. I'll start on the first and get a pass at the entrance.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| დაბრძანდით. აქამდე რით იყავით დაკავებული? | dabrdzandit. akamde rit iqavit dakavebuli? | Have a seat. What have you been doing until now? |
| შვიდი წელი ქარხანაში მექანიკოსად ვმუშაობდი. | shvidi tseli karkhanashi mekanikosad vmushaobdi. | For seven years I worked as a mechanic at a factory. |
| რატომ წამოხვედით? ქარხანა ხომ ჯერ კიდევ მუშაობს. | ratom tsamokhvedit? karkhana khom jer kidev mushaobs. | Why did you leave? The factory is still working, after all. |
| წარმოება შეამცირეს და ბევრი უმუშევარი დარჩა. | tsarmoeba sheamtsires da bevri umushevari darcha. | Production was cut, and many were left without work. |
| გასაგებია. ჩვენთან ორ ცვლაში მუშაობენ, შესვენება ნახევარი საათია. | gasagebia. chventan or tsvlashi mushaoben, shesveneba nakhevari saatia. | I see. We work in two shifts, the break is half an hour. |
| მომწონს. მაინტერესებს ხელფასი და არის თუ არა ავანსი. | momtsons. mainteresebs khelpasi da aris tu ara avansi. | That suits me. I'm interested in the salary and whether there's an advance. |
| ხელფასი მინიმალურზე ცოტა მაღალია, ავანსი კი თხუთმეტში გაიცემა. | khelpasi minimalurze tsota maghalia, avansi ki tkhutmetshi gaitsema. | The salary is a bit above minimum, and the advance is paid on the fifteenth. |
| კარგი. პირველიდან დავიწყებ და საშვს შესასვლელთან ავიღებ. | kargi. pirvelidan davitsqeb da sashvs shesasvleltan avigheb. | Okay. I'll start on the first and get a pass at the entrance. |
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?
“დაბრძანდით. აქამდე რით იყავით დაკავებული?” (dabrdzandit. akamde rit iqavit dakavebuli?) — Have a seat. What have you been doing until now?. 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.