Goal: you will name Georgian dishes and say what they contain.
Course progress: lesson 46 / 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 23. My first supra table
My first real supra, a Georgian feast. The table disappears under the dishes: plates are piled on top of other plates, and new ones keep arriving. Bebo names every dish for me, and Giorgi teaches me how to eat khinkali.
Today: Georgian food, and how to say what a dish is made with.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| სუფრა | supra | feast; table set for a meal |
| მწვადი | mts'vadi | mtsvadi, grilled meat on skewers |
| ლობიო | lobio | lobio, Georgian bean stew; beans |
| მხალი | mkhali | mkhali, greens or vegetables with walnut paste; on menus often ფხალიpkhali (pkhali) |
| ბადრიჯანი | badrijani | aubergine, eggplant |
| ნიგოზი | nigozi | walnut |
| ჩურჩხელა | churchkhela | churchkhela, nuts dipped in grape juice |
| ტყემალი | t'q'emali | tkemali, sour plum sauce |
| ღორის ხორცი | ghoris khortsi | pork |
| ქათამი | katami | chicken |
| ხელით | khelit | with the hand |
| მოგვიანებით | mogvianebit | later |
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 say what a dish is made with, use -ითit (lesson 45):
| dish | with |
|---|---|
| ბადრიჯანი ნიგვზითbadrijani nigvzit | aubergine with walnuts |
| ხინკალი ხორცითkhink'ali khortsit | khinkali with meat |
| ხაჭაპური ყველითkhach'ap'uri q'velit | khachapuri with cheese |
| ჩაი ლიმონითchai limonit | tea with lemon |
Words that lose a vowel in the plural lose it here too: ნიგოზიnigozi → ნიგვზითnigvzit (like ნიგვზებიnigvzebi).
The same ending is used for the tool you eat with: ხელითkhelit (with the hand), ჩანგლითchanglit (with a fork: ჩანგალიchangali loses its აa), კოვზითk'ovzit (with a spoon).
For the material or the main ingredient, Georgian also uses the -ისis form before the noun: ღორის ხორციghoris khortsi (pig's meat: pork), ქათმის სალათიkatmis salati (chicken salad), ხის კარიkhis k'ari (a wooden door). You will learn this form in lesson 51.
Khinkali are eaten with the hand: you hold the dumpling by its knot, take a small bite, drink the hot broth, then eat the rest. The knot itself is usually left on the plate, and some people count the knots to see who has eaten the most.
ჩურჩხელაchurchkhela looks like a long candle: walnuts or hazelnuts are threaded on a string and dipped many times in thickened grape juice, then dried. It is a typical autumn treat after the grape harvest.
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 46 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