Month 13. My travel blog
It's been a year since I arrived. I've started a blog in Georgian about my travels, and Nino is my first reader, and my strictest teacher.
Today: review the perfect with my first blog post.
LIMBA audio course · Georgian
Hear it, then say it: learn to speak Georgian
- 37 audio lessons
- about 13 minutes each
- explained in simple English
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▶ Listen to lesson 1 for free
1Sam’s diary
2Dialogue
Sam
ნინო, ჩემი ბლოგი წაიკითხე! „ერთი წელია, რაც საქართველოში ვცხოვრობ.“nino, chemi blogi ts'aik'itkhe! „erti ts'elia, rats sakartveloshi vtskhovrob.“Nino, read my blog! "It's been a year since I started living in Georgia."
Nino
კარგი დასაწყისია! მერე?k'argi dasats'q'isia! mere?Good start! And then?
Sam
„ბევრგან ვყოფილვარ: ბათუმში, ქუთაისში, ყაზბეგში და სვანეთში. ყველაზე მეტად სვანეთი მომეწონა.“„bevrgan vq'opilvar: batumshi, kutaisshi, q'azbegshi da svanetshi. q'velaze met'ad svaneti momets'ona.“"I've been to lots of places: Batumi, Kutaisi, Kazbegi and Svaneti. I liked Svaneti best."
Nino
და ხინკალზე არაფერი დაგიწერია?da khink'alze araperi dagits'eria?And haven't you written anything about khinkali?
Sam
დამიწერია! „ასამდე ხინკალი მიჭამია, მაგრამ ჯერ ვერ ვისწავლე მისი სწორად ჭამა.“damits'eria! „asamde khink'ali mich'amia, magram jer ver vists'avle misi sts'orad ch'ama.“I have! "I've eaten about a hundred khinkali, but I still haven't learned to eat them properly."
Nino
ძალიან სასაცილოა! და ქართული?dzalian sasatsiloa! da kartuli?Very funny! And Georgian?
Sam
„ქართული ძნელი ენაა, მაგრამ ძალიან მომწონს. თურმე ერთ ზმნაში მთელი წინადადება იმალება!“„kartuli dzneli enaa, magram dzalian momts'ons. turme ert zmnashi mteli ts'inadadeba imaleba!“"Georgian is a difficult language, but I really like it. It turns out a whole sentence can hide inside one verb!"
Nino
ბრწყინვალე ბლოგია! ძალიან მომეწონა.brts'q'invale blogia! dzalian momets'ona.It's a brilliant blog! I liked it very much.
3New words
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ბლოგი | blogi | blog |
| დასაწყისი | dasats'q'isi | beginning, start |
| ბევრგან | bevrgan | in many places |
| ასამდე | asamde | up to a hundred, about a hundred |
| სასაცილო | sasatsilo | funny |
| იმალება | imaleba | it hides, it is hidden |
| ბრწყინვალე | brts'q'invale | brilliant |
How to read the pronunciation
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.
4Grammar and explanations
The perfect in unit 13
| use | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| experience | ბევრგან ვყოფილვარ.bevrgan vq'opilvar. | I've been to many places. |
| experience | ასამდე ხინკალი მიჭამია.asamde khink'ali mich'amia. | I've eaten about a hundred khinkali. |
| never, not yet | არასოდეს არ მიცეკვია.arasodes ar mitsek'via. | I've never danced. |
| plain "didn't" | დღეს არაფერი არ მიჭამია.dghes araperi ar mich'amia. | I haven't eaten anything today. |
| conclusion | ლევანი წასულა.levani ts'asula. | Levan must have gone. |
| hearsay | თურმე ლიკა გათხოვილა.turme lik'a gatkhovila. | Apparently Lika has got married. |
| surprise | კარგი ყოფილა!k'argi q'opila! | Oh, it's good! |
| tales | ყოფილა ერთი ბიჭი…q'opila erti bich'i… | There was once a boy… |
Two families
| intransitive: nominative + "be" endings | transitive: dative doer |
|---|---|
| ვყოფილვარ, წასულა, დაბრუნებულანvq'opilvar, ts'asula, dabrunebulan | მინახავს, მიჭამია, დაუწერიაminakhavs, mich'amia, dauts'eria |
The three past tenses
| imperfect | aorist | perfect |
|---|---|---|
| ვცხოვრობდიvtskhovrobdi (I was living) | ვიცხოვრეvitskhovre (I lived) | მიცხოვრიაmitskhovria (I have lived) |
| ვწერდიvts'erdi (I was writing) | დავწერეdavts'ere (I wrote) | დამიწერიაdamits'eria (I have written) |
5Good to know
ერთი წელიაerti ts'elia, რაცrats… is how Georgian says "it's been a year since…": ერთი წელიაerti ts'elia, რაც ქართულს ვსწავლობrats kartuls vsts'avlob = "I've been learning Georgian for a year". Note the present tense, as in სამი თვეაsami tvea, რაც აქ ვარrats ak var (I've been here for three months).
6Exercises
Choose an answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.
- "I've been to many places" is…
- "I've eaten about a hundred khinkali" is…
- "Haven't you written anything?" is…
- "I liked it very much" is…
- "Apparently Lika has got married" is…
- "I've never danced" is…
- "Levan must have gone" is…
- "Nino has written a poem" is…
- "I was writing" is…
- "Oh, it's you!" is…
- "I've been learning Georgian for a year" is…
- "I still haven't learned to eat them properly" is…
- What does ბრწყინვალეbrts'q'invale mean?
Well done! Lesson 130 is ticked on your course map.
Say it, then write it
Say your answer out loud, write it down, then open the model answer.
- Say "I've been to Batumi and Kutaisi."
Show the answer
ბათუმში და ქუთაისში ვყოფილვარ.batumshi da kutaisshi vq'opilvar. - Say "I've never eaten kubdari."
Show the answer
კუბდარი არასოდეს არ მიჭამია.k'ubdari arasodes ar mich'amia. - Say "Apparently Giorgi has gone to Batumi."
Show the answer
თურმე გიორგი ბათუმში წასულა.turme giorgi batumshi ts'asula. - Say "I liked Svaneti best."
Show the answer
ყველაზე მეტად სვანეთი მომეწონა.q'velaze met'ad svaneti momets'ona. - Say "I've been living in Tbilisi for a year."
Show the answer
ერთი წელია, რაც თბილისში ვცხოვრობ.erti ts'elia, rats tbilisshi vtskhovrob.
Lesson finished? Now train your ear
Speak Georgian with the 37 LIMBA audio lessons
- 37 audio lessons
- about 13 minutes each
- explained in simple English
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▶ Listen to lesson 1 for free
Unit 13: The perfect: experience and hearsay B1
- 121Have you ever been...? ვყოფილვარvq'opilvar
- 122I have read, I have seen: the perfect
- 123Never, not yet: არar + the perfect
- 124It seems he has gone
- 125Apparently: თურმეturme
- 126Was writing, wrote, has written
- 127A Georgian folk tale
- 128Travel stories: Svaneti
- 129Polyphonic songs and dances
- 130Review: a travel blog