Goal: you will say your nationality and which languages you know.
Course progress: lesson 15 / 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 8. The bakery around the corner
The baker around the corner asks me where I'm from every morning, and every morning she is delighted to hear me try a few words of Georgian. Today she wants to know which languages I speak.
Today: words for people from a country, and words for languages.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| კანადელი | k'anadeli | a Canadian |
| ამერიკელი | amerik'eli | an American |
| ინგლისელი | ingliseli | an Englishman, an Englishwoman |
| ფრანგი | prangi | a French person |
| ინგლისური | inglisuri | English (language) |
| ფრანგული | pranguli | French (language) |
| რუსული | rusuli | Russian (language) |
| გერმანული | germanuli | German (language) |
| ვიცი | vitsi | I know |
| იცი? / იცით? | itsi? / itsit? | do you know? (friend / polite) |
| ცოტა | tsot'a | a little |
| მაგრამ | magram | but |
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.
Many words for people from a country or a city end in -ელიeli. The ending is added to the name of the place, which loses its last vowel:
| place | person |
|---|---|
| კანადაk'anada | კანადელიk'anadeli |
| ამერიკაamerik'a | ამერიკელიamerik'eli |
| ინგლისიinglisi | ინგლისელიingliseli |
| ავსტრალიაavst'ralia | ავსტრალიელიavst'ralieli |
| თბილისიtbilisi | თბილისელიtbiliseli |
The Georgians are an exception you already know: ქართველიkartveli. Some other nationalities are exceptions too: a French person is a ფრანგიprangi, a Russian a რუსიrusi.
Languages end in -ულიuli or -ურიuri: ქართულიkartuli (Georgian), რუსულიrusuli (Russian), ფრანგულიpranguli (French), გერმანულიgermanuli (German), ინგლისურიinglisuri (English). The same word is also the adjective: ქართული ღვინოkartuli ghvino, Georgian wine.
| nationality | language, adjective |
|---|---|
| ქართველიkartveli | ქართულიkartuli |
| ინგლისელიingliseli | ინგლისურიinglisuri |
| ფრანგიprangi | ფრანგულიpranguli |
Georgians usually ask ქართული იციkartuli itsi? or, politely, ქართული იცითkartuli itsit? "Do you know Georgian?". The answers:
You will learn the whole verb "to know" in lesson 39.
მაგრამmagram joins two ideas that contrast: ძნელიაdznelia, მაგრამ ლამაზიაmagram lamazia, "it's difficult, but it's beautiful".
ხომkhom at the end of a sentence asks for confirmation, like "..., aren't you?" or "..., right?": კანადელი ხართk'anadeli khart, ხომkhom? You will learn more about it in lesson 119.
Georgians are proud of their language, which is spoken almost nowhere else, and they truly appreciate any effort you make. Even ცოტა ვიციtsot'a vitsi usually earns you a smile and a compliment.
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 15 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