Goal: you will ask yes/no questions and answer them, also in the negative.
Course progress: lesson 16 / 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. A misunderstanding at the door
Someone rings at the door. I open, a man asks me something very fast, and I understand only one word: Levan. I answer "yes", then "no", then "I don't know".
Today: how to ask a yes/no question, and how to say "not".
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| არ | ar | not |
| ხო | kho | yeah (very colloquial) |
| სტუმარი | st'umari | guest |
| შვილი | shvili | son, daughter, child (of a parent) |
| მისი | misi | his, her |
| არ ვიცი | ar vitsi | I don't know |
| სახლი | sakhli | house, home |
| მართალია | martalia | that's right, it's true |
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.
To turn a sentence into a yes/no question, you do not change the words: you change your voice. Raise it at the end, on the verb.
| polite | everyday | familiar | no |
|---|---|---|---|
| დიახdiakh | კიk'i | ჰო, ხოho, kho | არაara |
ჰოho and ხოkho are both "yeah" among friends; ხოkho is even more relaxed.
To say "not", put არar directly before the verb:
Be careful: with არar, the full form არისaris comes back. You cannot say "არar" + the short -აa: say ექიმი არ არისekimi ar aris, "he is not a doctor".
არაara is the word "no", used alone as an answer. არar is "not", used before a verb. A typical answer uses both: არაara, არ ვიციar vitsi, "no, I don't know".
Georgians often answer a question by repeating the verb instead of saying yes: ქართული იციkartuli itsi? / ვიციvitsi! ("I know!"). აქ არისak aris? / არისaris! ("He is!"). It sounds very natural.
მართალიაmartalia ("it is true, that's right") is the perfect word when you agree with what someone says.
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 16 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