Month 27. Borjomi forest
Giorgi and I spend a weekend hiking in the forests around Borjomi. The air is perfect, the silence too, until we find a plastic bottle on the path.
Today: nature and the environment.
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.
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1Sam’s diary
2Dialogue
Giorgi
ბორჯომის ეროვნულ პარკში ვართ. ნახე, რა ხეებია!borjomis erovnul p'ark'shi vart. nakhe, ra kheebia!We're in the Borjomi National Park. Look at these trees!
Sam
რა სუფთა ჰაერია! ქალაქში ასეთი ჰაერი არ არის.ra supta haeria! kalakshi aseti haeri ar aris.What clean air! There's no air like this in the city.
Giorgi
ჰო, ქალაქებში ჰაერი ბინძურდება, მანქანების გამო.ho, kalakebshi haeri bindzurdeba, mankanebis gamo.Yes, in cities the air is getting polluted, because of the cars.
Sam
ნახე, ნაგავი! ვიღაცას ბოთლი დაუგდია.nakhe, nagavi! vighatsas botli daugdia.Look, rubbish! Someone has thrown a bottle here.
Giorgi
აიღე, ჩანთაში ჩავდოთ. ბუნება ყველამ უნდა დავიცვათ.aighe, chantashi chavdot. buneba q'velam unda davitsvat.Pick it up, let's put it in the bag. We all have to protect nature.
Sam
კანადაში ნაგვის დახარისხება ყველგანაა: პლასტიკი ცალკე, ქაღალდი ცალკე.k'anadashi nagvis dakhariskheba q'velganaa: p'last'ik'i tsalk'e, kaghaldi tsalk'e.In Canada, people sort their rubbish everywhere: plastic separately, paper separately.
Giorgi
თბილისშიც ჩნდება გადამუშავების პუნქტები. ნელ-ნელა ვსწავლობთ.tbilisshits chndeba gadamushavebis p'unkt'ebi. nel-nela vsts'avlobt.In Tbilisi recycling points are appearing too. We're learning, little by little.
Sam
ბინძურდება არა მარტო ჰაერი, არამედ ზღვებიც. ყველამ უნდა ვიზრუნოთ.bindzurdeba ara mart'o haeri, aramed zghvebits. q'velam unda vizrunot.Not only the air is getting polluted, but the seas too. We all have to take care.
3New words
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ეროვნული პარკი | erovnuli p'ark'i | national park |
| ჰაერი | haeri | air |
| ბინძურდება | bindzurdeba | is getting dirty, polluted |
| ნაგავი | nagavi | rubbish, litter |
| დაუგდია | daugdia | he/she has (apparently) thrown (it) down |
| დავიცვათ | davitsvat | (that) we protect |
| დახარისხება | dakhariskheba | sorting |
| პლასტიკი | p'last'ik'i | plastic |
| გადამუშავება | gadamushaveba | recycling, processing |
| ნელ-ნელა | nel-nela | little by little, slowly |
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
Environment vocabulary
| word | meaning |
|---|---|
| ბუნებაbuneba | nature |
| ბუნების დაცვაbunebis datsva | protecting nature |
| გარემოgaremo | environment |
| დაბინძურებაdabindzureba | pollution |
| კლიმატის ცვლილებაk'limat'is tsvlileba | climate change |
| ტყეt'q'e | forest |
| მდინარეmdinare | river |
"We all must…": ყველამ უნდაq'velam unda + optative
ბუნება ყველამ უნდა დავიცვათ.buneba q'velam unda davitsvat.nature everyone(ERG) must we-protectWe all have to protect nature.
ყველამq'velam is in the ergative because the optative დავიცვათdavitsvat belongs to series II (lesson 152), and the verb takes "we" because the speaker includes himself.
Not only… but also (official B1)
The official example: ბინძურდება არა მარტო ნიადაგიbindzurdeba ara mart'o niadagi, არამედ ზღვებიცaramed zghvebits (not only the soil but also the seas are getting polluted).
Someone has (apparently) done it
The perfect for something you see only the result of (lesson 124): > ვიღაცას ბოთლი დაუგდიაvighatsas botli daugdia. | Someone has thrown a bottle down here.
5Good to know
Borjomi is famous across the region for its mineral water and for the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, a vast protected forest in the Lesser Caucasus. The official B1 grammar also lists გარემოს დაცვაgaremos datsva (protecting the environment) as a model genitive + verbal noun.
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 clean air!" is…
- "The air is getting polluted" is…
- "because of the cars" is…
- "Someone has (apparently) thrown a bottle" is…
- "We all have to protect nature" is…
- "Not only the air but also the seas" is…
- "recycling points" is…
- "protecting the environment" (official) is…
- What does ნელ-ნელაnel-nela mean?
- What is ნაგავიnagavi?
Well done! Lesson 186 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 "We must protect the forests."
Show the answer
ტყეები უნდა დავიცვათ.t'q'eebi unda davitsvat. - Say "Never throw rubbish in the street!" (official example)
Show the answer
არასოდეს არ დაყარო ქუჩაში ნაგავი!arasodes ar daq'aro kuchashi nagavi! - Say "climate change"
Show the answer
კლიმატის ცვლილებაk'limat'is tsvlileba - Say "The river is getting polluted."
Show the answer
მდინარე ბინძურდება.mdinare bindzurdeba. - Say "Let's sort the rubbish."
Show the answer
ნაგავი დავახარისხოთ.nagavi davakhariskhot.
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