13.2 Reading Short Dialogues

Getting Ready to Read Short Dialogues

In this chapter you will practice reading short, everyday dialogues in Georgian. The focus is on recognizing common patterns, seeing whole phrases, and connecting what you read with real situations. You will not analyze every grammar form in detail here. That will happen in other chapters. Here you train your eyes to move through Georgian text naturally and gain confidence.

Use the dialogues as mini scripts that you can read aloud and later act out.

How to Approach a Short Dialogue

Before reading the examples, keep this approach in mind:

1. Look over the whole dialogue once without a dictionary.
2. Underline or notice words you already know.
3. Guess the meaning from context.
4. Read aloud slowly, focusing on sound and rhythm.
5. Then check translation and new vocabulary.

In the examples below, Georgian text comes first, then a line‑by‑line English translation. Read the Georgian aloud several times before looking at the English.

Dialogue 1: First Meeting

A very simple greeting exchange.

Georgian

A: გამარჯობა. მე მარია ვარ. შენ რა გქვია?
B: გამარჯობა, მარია. მე ლუკა ვარ. სასიამოვნოა.

English

A: Hello. I am Maria. What is your name?
B: Hello, Maria. I am Luka. Nice to meet you.

Notes and patterns to notice

• Short sentences are very common in spoken Georgian.
• The question შენ რა გქვია? is a fixed pattern meaning “What is your name?”
• სასიამოვნოა literally means “it is pleasant” but works as “Nice to meet you.”

Mini reading tasks

Try these without looking back:

1. Which sentence means “I am Luka”?
2. Which word in Georgian expresses “Nice to meet you”?

Then check in the dialogue.

Dialogue 2: At a Café

A simple ordering situation.

Georgian

A: ბარათი გაქვთ?
B: კი, საბანკო ბარათი მაქვს.
A: კარგი. რას დალევთ?
B: ყავას დავლევ, გთხოვთ.

English

A: Do you have a card?
B: Yes, I have a bank card.
A: Good. What will you drink? / What would you like to drink?
B: I will drink coffee, please.

Notes and patterns

Here you see polite forms and future‑type forms in a natural context. For now, just recognize them as whole phrases:

• რას დალევთ? works as “What would you like to drink?”
• გთხოვთ is a polite “please” or “you are welcome,” depending on context.

Reading practice idea

Cover the English and read the Georgian aloud. Then, from memory, tell yourself in English what is happening in the café.

Dialogue 3: Asking “Where are you from?”

This mixes greetings with nationality.

Georgian

A: გამარჯობა. შენ საქართველოიდან ხარ?
B: არა, მე საფრანგეთიდან ვარ. შენ?
A: მე საქართველოდან ვარ. პარიზში ცხოვრობ?
B: კი, პარიზში ვცხოვრობ.

English

A: Hello. Are you from Georgia?
B: No, I am from France. And you?
A: I am from Georgia. Do you live in Paris?
B: Yes, I live in Paris.

Things to notice while reading

• შენ საქართველოიდან ხარ? is a yes, no question by intonation only.
• Place names like საფრანგეთი “France” and პარიზი “Paris” keep their basic form when used with “from” or “in” through case endings that you will study later. For now, notice the shapes: საფრანგეთიდან, პარიზში.

Try reading the Georgian several times, then answer in Georgian:

1. “I am from France.”
2. “I live in Paris.”

Use the dialogue as your model.

Dialogue 4: At the Supermarket

A very short functional exchange.

Georgian

A: ბოდიში, პური სად არის?
B: პური იქ არის, მარცხნივ.
A: მადლობა.
B: არაფრის.

English

A: Excuse me, where is the bread?
B: The bread is there, on the left.
A: Thank you.
B: You are welcome. / It is nothing.

Reading tip

When you see სად think “where,” and when you see იქ think “there.” Practice replacing the noun:

• პური სად არის? “Where is the bread?”
• Try to imagine: წყალი სად არის? “Where is the water?”
• Or: ყველი სად არის? “Where is the cheese?”

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Dialogue 5: At School or a Course

A simple school context.

Georgian

A: ეს შენი წიგნია?
B: არა, ეს ჩემი წიგნი არ არის.
A: ვისი წიგნია ეს?
B: არ ვიცი. ამაში წერია სახელი?

English

A: Is this your book?
B: No, this is not my book.
A: Whose book is this?
B: I do not know. Is the name written in it?

Things to watch

• ეს შენი წიგნია? uses “this” plus “your” and “book” in one short question.
• ვისი means “whose,” used for possession questions.

Read the Georgian twice. Then point to some object around you and say out loud:

• ეს ჩემი წიგნია “This is my book”
• or replace წიგნი with any object word that you already know.

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Dialogue 6: Short Phone Exchange

A very small dialogue to practice names and checking identity.

Georgian

A: ალექსი ხარ?
B: დიახ, ალექსი ვარ. ვინ ხარ შენ?
A: მე ნინო ვარ. შენს მეგობარს ვეძებ.
B: ნინო, გამარჯობა. მე აქ ვარ.

English

A: Are you Alex?
B: Yes, I am Alex. Who are you?
A: I am Nino. I am looking for your friend.
B: Nino, hello. I am here.

Here the important task is just to track who is who. Read once very slowly, then again faster, like a real telephone call.

Dialogue 7: At a Doctor’s Office

Another everyday situation, still very short.

Georgian

A: გამარჯობა. დრო გაქვთ დღეს?
B: გამარჯობა. რომელ საათზე?
A: საღამოს ექვსზე.
B: კარგი, შეგიძლიათ მოხვიდეთ.

English

A: Hello. Do you have time today?
B: Hello. At what time?
A: At six in the evening.
B: Good, you can come.

When you read, fix two expressions in your memory:

• რომელ საათზე? “At what time?”
• შეგიძლიათ მოხვიდეთ “You can come.”

They are useful in many other situations, not only with doctors.

Dialogue 8: Very Short Everyday Exchanges

These micro dialogues help you see very common fixed phrases.

Micro dialogue A

A: როგორ ხარ?
B: კარგად, შენ?

A: How are you?
B: Fine, and you?

Micro dialogue B

A: რა ღირს ეს?
B: ათი ლარი.

A: How much is this?
B: Ten lari.

Micro dialogue C

A: მოგვიანებით გნახავ.
B: კარგი, ნახვამდის.

A: I will see you later.
B: Ok, goodbye.

Read these a few times until you can see the whole phrase at once, not letter by letter.

Practice: Reordering Dialogue Lines

To train comprehension, try to put the following scrambled lines in a logical order before checking with the solution.

Scrambled Georgian lines

1. არა, მე კანადიდან ვარ.
2. გამარჯობა. შენ საქართველოდან ხარ?
3. მე საქართველოდან ვარ. შენ?

A logical order might be:

2, 1, 3

Now check with English:

2: Hello. Are you from Georgia?
1: No, I am from Canada.
3: I am from Georgia. And you?

You can create your own scrambled dialogues from the examples above for extra reading practice.

Strategies While Reading Short Dialogues

When you practice with new dialogues:

• Always read aloud. This connects reading with pronunciation.
• Do not stop for every unknown word. Note it, but keep reading.
• Use repeated patterns such as greetings, name questions, and “where/from” questions as anchors.
• Try to act out the dialogue, even alone, switching roles.

New Vocabulary from this Chapter

The list includes only words and fixed expressions that appear in the dialogues and may be new. Many are very common and useful.

Use these dialogues as your daily reading material. Revisit them often, try to read faster each time, and notice how familiar phrases begin to feel automatic.