Goal: you will use the verb "to be" in the singular.
Course progress: lesson 12 / 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 6. Filling in a form
At the language school, a secretary hands me a form and asks a few questions. Later, at home, Giorgi asks me the same questions, but in a much more relaxed way.
Today we learn the most useful verb of all: "to be", for one person.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ვარ | var | I am |
| ხარ | khar | you are (one friend) |
| არის | aris | he, she, it is |
| სტუდენტი | st'udent'i | student |
| მასწავლებელი | masts'avlebeli | teacher |
| ექიმი | ekimi | doctor |
| ტურისტი | t'urist'i | tourist |
| სკოლა | sk'ola | school |
| სად? | sad? | where? |
| ახლა | akhla | now |
| აქ | ak | here |
| იქ | ik | there |
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.
| person | pronoun | to be |
|---|---|---|
| I | მეme | ვარvar |
| you (one friend) | შენshen | ხარkhar |
| he, she, it | ისis | არისaris |
In a simple sentence the verb likes to stand at the end: მე სტუდენტი ვარme st'udent'i var. Georgian has no word for "a" or "the": სტუდენტიst'udent'i is "student", "a student" or "the student".
The verb already says who is speaking, so the pronoun is often left out: სტუდენტი ვარst'udent'i var is enough. Keep მეme, შენshen, ისis when you want to contrast people: მე სტუდენტი ვარme st'udent'i var, ის მასწავლებელიაis masts'avlebelia.
ისis means he, she and it. Georgian has no grammatical gender at all: the same words work for men and women. ის ექიმიაis ekimia can be a man or a woman.
სადsad? is "where?". სად ხარsad khar? "Where are you?", სად არისsad aris? "Where is he / she / it?". The answer often uses -შიshi, "in": სკოლაშიsk'olashi, "at school", which you will study in lesson 32.
არისaris shrinks to -აa almost every time in speech: სტუდენტიაst'udent'ia, მასწავლებელიაmasts'avlebelia, სკოლაშიაsk'olashia. When the word already ends in -აa, you hear a long a: ეს მანანააes mananaa. In careful writing both forms are correct.
On the phone, a very common first question is სად ხარsad khar? "where are you?" Georgians ask it the way English speakers ask "how's it going?".
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 12 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