Month 23. An old inscription
Tamar takes our class to the old church of Bolnisi Sioni, south of Tbilisi. On its stones there are letters I can't read at all, and yet they are Georgian.
Today: the history of the Georgian alphabet.
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
ეს რა ასოებია? ქართულს არ ჰგავს!es ra asoebia? kartuls ar hgavs!What letters are these? They don't look like Georgian!
Tamar
ეს ასომთავრულია, ქართული დამწერლობის ყველაზე ძველი სახე.es asomtavrulia, kartuli damts'erlobis q'velaze dzveli sakhe.This is Asomtavruli, the oldest form of Georgian writing.
Sam
რამდენი წლისაა ეს წარწერა?ramdeni ts'lisaa es ts'arts'era?How old is this inscription?
Tamar
ბოლნისის სიონზე წარწერა მეხუთე საუკუნისაა, ერთ-ერთი ყველაზე ძველი ქართული წარწერა.bolnisis sionze ts'arts'era mekhute sauk'unisaa, ert-erti q'velaze dzveli kartuli ts'arts'era.The inscription on Bolnisi Sioni is from the fifth century, one of the oldest Georgian inscriptions.
Sam
და ნუსხური?da nuskhuri?And Nuskhuri?
Tamar
ნუსხური მოგვიანებით გაჩნდა, საეკლესიო წიგნებისთვის. მხედრული კი ის დამწერლობაა, რომლითაც დღეს ვწერთ.nuskhuri mogvianebit gachnda, saek'lesio ts'ignebistvis. mkhedruli k'i is damts'erlobaa, romlitats dghes vts'ert.Nuskhuri appeared later, for church books. And Mkhedruli is the script we write with today.
Sam
ანუ სამი ანბანი გაქვთ!anu sami anbani gakvt!So you have three alphabets!
Tamar
სამი დამწერლობა, ერთი ანბანი. 2016 წელს იუნესკომ ამ სამი დამწერლობის ცოცხალი კულტურა აღიარა.sami damts'erloba, erti anbani. 2016 ts'els iunesk'om am sami damts'erlobis tsotskhali k'ult'ura aghiara.Three scripts, one alphabet. In 2016 UNESCO recognised the living culture of these three scripts.
3New words
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| დამწერლობა | damts'erloba | script, writing system |
| ასომთავრული | asomtavruli | Asomtavruli, the oldest Georgian script |
| წარწერა | ts'arts'era | inscription |
| საუკუნე | sauk'une | century |
| გაჩნდა | gachnda | it appeared |
| საეკლესიო | saek'lesio | church (adjective) |
| რომლითაც | romlitats | with which |
| აღიარა | aghiara | he/she/it recognised |
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
Centuries: ordinal numbers
| Georgian | English |
|---|---|
| მეხუთე საუკუნეmekhute sauk'une | the fifth century |
| მეხუთე საუკუნეშიmekhute sauk'uneshi | in the fifth century |
| მეხუთე საუკუნისააmekhute sauk'unisaa | it's from the fifth century |
| მეთერთმეტე საუკუნიდანmetertmet'e sauk'unidan | from the eleventh century |
The language of history
History texts love the passive and the verbs of appearing: > ნუსხური მოგვიანებით გაჩნდაnuskhuri mogvianebit gachnda. | Nuskhuri appeared later. > ეს წარწერა მეხუთე საუკუნეში დაიწერაes ts'arts'era mekhute sauk'uneshi daits'era. | This inscription was written in the fifth century.
რომლითაცromlitats: with which
The relative რომელიცromelits (lesson 112) also takes the instrumental: -ითit + -ცts: > მხედრული ის დამწერლობააmkhedruli is damts'erlobaa, რომლითაც დღეს ვწერთromlitats dghes vts'ert. | Mkhedruli is the script (that) we write with today.
The three scripts
| script | when | used for |
|---|---|---|
| ასომთავრულიasomtavruli | inscriptions from the 5th century | the oldest inscriptions and manuscripts |
| ნუსხურიnuskhuri | later, from about the 9th century | church books, together with Asomtavruli |
| მხედრულიmkhedruli | from the 10th–11th centuries | the everyday script, used for modern Georgian |
5Good to know
A medieval chronicle says the Georgian script was created by King Parnavaz in the 3rd century BC. Historians date the oldest surviving inscriptions to the 5th century AD. In 2016 UNESCO inscribed "the living culture of three writing systems of the Georgian alphabet" on its list of intangible heritage. Today, the capital-letter shapes of Mkhedruli, მთავრულიmtavruli, are used for titles and signs.
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.
- What is the oldest Georgian script?
- Which script do Georgians write with today?
- "in the fifth century" is…
- "It's from the fifth century" is…
- "Nuskhuri appeared later" is…
- "the script we write with" is…
- In which year did UNESCO recognise the three Georgian scripts?
- What is a წარწერაts'arts'era?
- "script, writing system" is…
- How many letters does the modern Georgian alphabet have?
Well done! Lesson 171 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 "in the eleventh century"
Show the answer
მეთერთმეტე საუკუნეშიmetertmet'e sauk'uneshi - Say "This church is from the fifth century."
Show the answer
ეს ეკლესია მეხუთე საუკუნისაა.es ek'lesia mekhute sauk'unisaa. - Say "The Georgian alphabet has 33 letters."
Show the answer
ქართულ ანბანში ოცდაცამეტი ასოა.kartul anbanshi otsdatsamet'i asoa. - Say "the pen I write with"
Show the answer
კალამი, რომლითაც ვწერk'alami, romlitats vts'er - Say "This inscription was written long ago."
Show the answer
ეს წარწერა დიდი ხნის წინ დაიწერა.es ts'arts'era didi khnis ts'in daits'era.
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