Goal: you will count to 100 with the 20-based system.
Course progress: lesson 27 / 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 14. Which bus do I take?
I want to go to the old town by bus, and Levan tells me: "Take bus thirty-seven." Thirty-seven in Georgian is "twenty and seventeen". I have to stop and think every time.
Today: numbers up to one hundred, counted in twenties.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| თერთმეტი | tertmet'i | eleven |
| თორმეტი | tormet'i | twelve |
| თხუთმეტი | tkhutmet'i | fifteen |
| ოცი | otsi | twenty |
| ორმოცი | ormotsi | forty |
| სამოცი | samotsi | sixty |
| ოთხმოცი | otkhmotsi | eighty |
| ასი | asi | one hundred |
| ავტობუსი | avt'obusi | bus |
| გაჩერება | gachereba | bus stop |
| რომელი? | romeli? | which? |
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.
| 11 თერთმეტი11 tertmet'i | 12 თორმეტი12 tormet'i | 13 ცამეტი13 tsamet'i | 14 თოთხმეტი14 totkhmet'i |
| 15 თხუთმეტი15 tkhutmet'i | 16 თექვსმეტი16 tekvsmet'i | 17 ჩვიდმეტი17 chvidmet'i | 18 თვრამეტი18 tvramet'i |
| 19 ცხრამეტი19 tskhramet'i | 20 ოცი20 otsi |
Most of them end in -მეტიmet'i, "more": they are "one more than ten", "two more than ten", and so on.
Georgian counts by twenties, like French "quatre-vingts":
| number | Georgian | literally |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | ოციotsi | twenty |
| 40 | ორმოციormotsi | two twenties |
| 60 | სამოციsamotsi | three twenties |
| 80 | ოთხმოციotkhmotsi | four twenties |
| 100 | ასიasi | hundred |
For any other number, take the twenty, add -დაda- ("and") and a number from 1 to 19:
| number | Georgian | literally |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | ოცდაერთიotsdaerti | twenty and one |
| 30 | ოცდაათიotsdaati | twenty and ten |
| 37 | ოცდაჩვიდმეტიotsdachvidmet'i | twenty and seventeen |
| 50 | ორმოცდაათიormotsdaati | forty and ten |
| 75 | სამოცდათხუთმეტიsamotsdatkhutmet'i | sixty and fifteen |
| 99 | ოთხმოცდაცხრამეტიotkhmotsdatskhramet'i | eighty and nineteen |
Notice that the twenty loses its final -იi before -დაda-: ოციotsi → ოცდაotsda..., ორმოციormotsi → ორმოცდაormotsda...
რომელიromeli? asks "which one?": რომელი ავტობუსიromeli avt'obusi? "which bus?". The answer is just the number.
A trick for big numbers: first find the twenty (20, 40, 60 or 80), then the rest from 1 to 19. For 58: 40 + 18 = ორმოცდათვრამეტიormotsdatvramet'i. For 93: 80 + 13 = ოთხმოცდაცამეტიotkhmotsdatsamet'i.
In Tbilisi you pay for buses and the metro with a transport card or a bank card at the reader. Check the current fare when you travel: prices change.
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 27 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