Goal: you will say hello, answer a greeting and say goodbye.
Course progress: lesson 1 / 200
LIMBA audio course · Georgian
This written course gives you the grammar, the words and the script. The LIMBA audio course trains your ear and your mouth: you listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect complement to these lessons.
Download the Georgian audio courseOrder form · your download link arrives by emailDay 1. Landing at Tbilisi airport
I have just landed at Tbilisi airport. Levan, the father of my host family, is waiting for me with a big sign: SAM.
I know exactly one word of Georgian, and I have practised it all the way from Canada. Here it comes.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა | gamarjoba | hello |
| გაგიმარჯოს | gagimarjos | hello (the answer to გამარჯობაgamarjoba) |
| დიახ | diakh | yes (polite) |
| კი | k'i | yes (everyday) |
| ჰო | ho | yeah (with friends) |
| არა | ara | no |
| მადლობა | madloba | thanks, thank you |
| არაფრის | arapris | you're welcome |
| კარგად | k'argad | bye (literally "well": keep well) |
| ნახვამდის | nakhvamdis | goodbye |
| ძალიან სასიამოვნოა | dzalian sasiamovnoa | very nice to meet you |
| კარგი | k'argi | good; OK |
The pronunciation is written in English letters, following Georgia’s official romanization. Say every letter: a as in father, e as in pet, i as in machine, o as in port, u as in rule; r is rolled; g is always hard; kh as in Scottish loch; gh a soft gargled g, like a French r; sh as in shop; zh like the s in pleasure; ch as in church; ts as in cats; dz as in adze; j as in jam. An apostrophe marks a “popped” consonant, said with a little click in the throat and no puff of air: k’, p’, t’, ts’, ch’, q’ (q’ is made deep in the throat). Without an apostrophe, k, p, t, ts, ch have a small puff of air. Use the Pronunciation button at the top to hide or show it.
Georgians say გამარჯობაgamarjoba to say hello, at any time of the day. The classic answer is a different word: გაგიმარჯოსgagimarjos. Both come from the word for victory, გამარჯვებაgamarjveba: the answer wishes victory back to the other person.
To greet several people, or one person very politely, add -თt: გამარჯობათgamarjobat. The answer becomes გაგიმარჯოთgagimarjot.
დიახdiakh is the polite yes: use it with people you do not know. კიk'i is the everyday yes. ჰოho is "yeah", for friends and family. "No" is always არაara.
| polite | everyday | familiar |
|---|---|---|
| დიახdiakh | კიk'i | ჰოho |
მადლობაmadloba means "thanks". The usual answer is არაფრისarapris, word for word "of nothing", just like "it's nothing". To say goodbye, use ნახვამდისnakhvamdis ("until we see each other again") or, more casually, კარგადk'argad ("keep well").
Georgian has its own alphabet, called Mkhedruli, with 33 letters. It is written from left to right and, in ordinary writing, it has no capital letters. You will learn every letter in lessons 2 to 8. Until then, read the Latin letters under each Georgian word.
Look at the Latin letters of კიk'i: k'i. The apostrophe is not decoration. It marks a "popped" k, made with a little click of air in the throat. Georgian has six of these sounds; you will train them in lesson 5. For now, just say კიk'i with a short, sharp k.
მადლობაmadloba is everyday "thanks". To thank someone politely, Georgians often say გმადლობთgmadlobt, "I thank you". You will use it in lesson 9.
Choose an answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.
Well done! Lesson 1 is ticked on your course map.
Say your answer out loud, write it down, then open the model answer.
Lesson finished? Now train your ear
This written course gives you the grammar, the words and the script. The LIMBA audio course trains your ear and your mouth: you listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect complement to these lessons.
Download the Georgian audio courseOrder form · your download link arrives by email