Goal: you will read signs and words with the whole alphabet.
Course progress: lesson 10 / 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 5. I read the city
One week in Tbilisi. Today I walk around the old town on my own, and I play a game: read every sign I see, aloud, before I look at the picture or the window.
This is the first review lesson: nothing completely new, a lot of reading, and a big test at the end.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ბანკი | bank'i | bank |
| სასტუმრო | sast'umro | hotel |
| რესტორანი | rest'orani | restaurant |
| კაფე | k'ape | café |
| ტუალეტი | t'ualet'i | toilet |
| შესასვლელი | shesasvleli | entrance |
| გასასვლელი | gasasvleli | exit |
| ღიაა | ghiaa | it is open |
| დაკეტილია | dak'et'ilia | it is closed |
| მოედანი | moedani | square (in a town) |
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.
Reading becomes easy when you group the letters by the kind of sound they make.
| family | letters |
|---|---|
| vowels | ა ე ი ო უa e i o u |
| breathy (puff of air) | თ ფ ქ ც ჩt p k ts ch |
| popped (ejectives) | ტ პ კ წ ჭ ყt' p' k' ts' ch' q' |
| voiced | ბ გ დ ვ ზ ძ ჯ ღ ჟb g d v z dz j gh zh |
| others | მ ნ ლ რ ს შ ხ ჰm n l r s sh kh h |
Many signs are written in Mtavruli. Read them letter by letter, like any other word:
| sign | everyday letters | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ᲨᲔᲡᲐᲡᲕᲚᲔᲚᲘshesasvleli | შესასვლელიshesasvleli | entrance |
| ᲒᲐᲡᲐᲡᲕᲚᲔᲚᲘgasasvleli | გასასვლელიgasasvleli | exit |
| ᲡᲐᲡᲢᲣᲛᲠᲝsast'umro | სასტუმროsast'umro | hotel |
| ᲢᲣᲐᲚᲔᲢᲘt'ualet'i | ტუალეტიt'ualet'i | toilet |
| ᲦᲘᲐᲐghiaa | ღიააghiaa | open |
| ᲓᲐᲙᲔᲢᲘᲚᲘᲐdak'et'ilia | დაკეტილიაdak'et'ilia | closed |
Some words are easy because they are international: ბანკიbank'i (bank), ტაქსიt'aksi (taxi), კაფეk'ape (café), რესტორანიrest'orani (restaurant), მეტროmet'ro (metro). Read them aloud, and notice how Georgian spells them with its own sounds: ტაქსიt'aksi starts with a popped t'.
The two words for entrance and exit share their ending: შესასვლელიshesasvleli (a place to go in) and გასასვლელიgasasvleli (a place to go out). The little difference at the start, შეshe- (in) and გაga- (out), is one of the direction prefixes you will meet again and again with Georgian verbs (lesson 65).
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 10 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