Goal: you will say what you have and who you have.
Course progress: lesson 29 / 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 15. Meet Bubu, the family dog
Meet Bubu, the family dog: big, brown, lazy, and convinced that every visitor has come to see him. Giorgi asks me if I have a dog in Canada.
Today: "to have". Georgian has two verbs for it, one for things and one for living beings.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| მაქვს | makvs | I have (a thing) |
| გაქვს | gakvs | you have (a thing) |
| აქვს | akvs | he, she has (a thing) |
| მყავს | mq'avs | I have (a person, an animal) |
| გყავს | gq'avs | you have (a person, an animal) |
| ჰყავს | hq'avs | he, she has (a person, an animal) |
| მანქანა | mankana | car |
| ველოსიპედი | velosip'edi | bicycle |
| დრო | dro | time |
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.
Georgian asks: is the thing you have alive? For people and animals, use მყავსmq'avs. For everything else, use მაქვსmakvs.
| things | people, animals | |
|---|---|---|
| I have | მაქვსmakvs | მყავსmq'avs |
| you have | გაქვსgakvs | გყავსgq'avs |
| he, she has | აქვსakvs | ჰყავსhq'avs |
| we have | გვაქვსgvakvs | გვყავსgvq'avs |
| you have (polite, plural) | გაქვთgakvt | გყავთgq'avt |
| they have | აქვთakvt | ჰყავთhq'avt |
As with მქვიაmkvia (lesson 11), the owner is shown by the first letter of the verb: მm- me, გg- you, გვgv- us. The thing you have is the subject, and it stays in its basic form: მანქანა მაქვსmankana makvs, ძმა მყავსdzma mq'avs.
To say "I have a cold" or "I have a fever", Georgian also uses მაქვსmakvs: სიცხე მაქვსsitskhe makvs, "I have a temperature". You will need it at the doctor's (lesson 97).
Living beings are always მყავსmq'avs, even small ones: კატა მყავსk'at'a mq'avs, თევზი მყავსtevzi mq'avs (I have a fish, as a pet). Fish you are going to eat, however, are თევზი მაქვსtevzi makvs!
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 29 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