Day 5. Buying a SIM card
My phone needs a Georgian number. In a small shop on Rustaveli Avenue, a young woman stands behind the counter.
I have only a few words, but if they are polite words, people are patient. Today I learn them all.
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
უკაცრავად, სიმ-ბარათი გაქვთ?uk'atsravad, sim-barati gakvt?Excuse me, do you have a SIM card?
Seller
დიახ. ინებეთ.diakh. inebet.Yes. Here you are.
Sam
გმადლობთ! რა ღირს?gmadlobt! ra ghirs?Thank you! How much is it?
Seller
ხუთი ლარი.khuti lari.Five lari.
Sam
ბოდიში, ხუთი?bodishi, khuti?Sorry, five?
Seller
დიახ, ხუთი.diakh, khuti.Yes, five.
Sam
კარგი. ინებეთ.k'argi. inebet.OK. Here you are.
Seller
გმადლობთ. ნახვამდის!gmadlobt. nakhvamdis!Thank you. Goodbye!
3New words
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| გმადლობთ | gmadlobt | thank you (polite) |
| დიდი მადლობა | didi madloba | thank you very much |
| გთხოვთ | gtkhovt | please (polite; literally "I ask you") |
| გთხოვ | gtkhov | please (to a friend) |
| ბოდიში | bodishi | sorry |
| უკაცრავად | uk'atsravad | excuse me |
| არა უშავს | ara ushavs | no problem, it's OK |
| რა ღირს? | ra ghirs? | how much is it? |
| ხუთი | khuti | five |
| სიმ-ბარათი | sim-barati | SIM card |
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
Two thank-yous
მადლობაmadloba (lesson 1) is "thanks". გმადლობთgmadlobt is a verb, "I thank you", and it sounds more polite: use it with strangers, in shops, with older people. To say "thank you very much", say დიდი მადლობაdidi madloba, literally "big thanks".
Please: გთხოვთgtkhovt and თუ შეიძლებაtu sheidzleba
გთხოვთgtkhovt means "I ask you": it is the polite "please" when you ask for something. With a friend, drop the -თt: გთხოვgtkhov. You can also say თუ შეიძლებაtu sheidzleba (lesson 4), "if possible", after your request.
ერთი ყავა, გთხოვთ.erti q'ava, gtkhovt.one coffee, I ask youOne coffee, please.
წყალი, თუ შეიძლება.ts'q'ali, tu sheidzleba.water, if possibleWater, please.
The polite -თt
Look at გმადლობთgmadlobt, გთხოვთgtkhovt, ინებეთinebet, გამარჯობათgamarjobat: the ending -თt makes the word polite, or plural. You will meet it again with the verbs, in თქვენ ხართtkven khart (lesson 13). It is the same idea as using თქვენtkven instead of შენshen.
| familiar | polite or plural |
|---|---|
| გთხოვgtkhov | გთხოვთgtkhovt |
| გამარჯობაgamarjoba | გამარჯობათgamarjobat |
Sorry and excuse me
უკაცრავადuk'atsravad is "excuse me" to get someone's attention, or to pass. ბოდიშიbodishi is "sorry" when you have done something wrong, or when you did not hear: ბოდიშიbodishi? "Sorry? Pardon?". The usual answer to ბოდიშიbodishi is არა უშავსara ushavs, "it's nothing, no problem".
5Good to know
გთხოვთgtkhovt is a real verb form: word for word "I ask you". That is why it carries the polite -თt. To a friend you say გთხოვgtkhov, and you can make it warmer with ძალიან გთხოვdzalian gtkhov, "I really ask you, please".
რა ღირსra ghirs? "What does it cost?" is the question for every shop and market. You will learn the numbers for the answer in lessons 19 and 27, and prices in lesson 47.
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.
- Which "thank you" is more polite?
- How do you say "thank you very much"?
- You want to get the attention of a waiter. You say…
- You step on someone's foot. You say…
- Someone says ბოდიშიbodishi to you. A friendly answer is…
- რა ღირსra ghirs? means…
- Which word makes a request polite?
- What does the ending -თt add to გთხოვgtkhov → გთხოვთgtkhovt?
- The shop assistant gives you your card. She says…
- How do you say "five"?
Well done! Lesson 9 is ticked on your course map.
Say it, then write it
Say your answer out loud, write it down, then open the model answer.
- Get the attention of a shop assistant politely.
Show the answer
უკაცრავად!uk'atsravad! - Ask "How much is it?"
Show the answer
რა ღირს?ra ghirs? - Ask for one coffee, with the polite "please".
Show the answer
ერთი ყავა, გთხოვთ.erti q'ava, gtkhovt. - Thank the assistant politely.
Show the answer
გმადლობთ!gmadlobt! - Someone apologises to you. Say "no problem".
Show the answer
არა უშავს.ara ushavs.
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
Unit 1: First steps: sounds and letters A1
- 1Hello! Your first Georgian words
- 2The five vowels and five easy consonants
- 3More easy letters: b, g, d, v, z
- 4The breathy consonants: t, p, k, ts, ch
- 5The popped consonants: k', p', t', ts', ch', q'
- 6The last letters: gh, kh, sh, zh, j, dz, h
- 7Consonant clusters: mts'vane, gv, mta
- 8The whole alphabet and the capital-style letters
- 9Please, thank you, sorry
- 10Review: reading your first signs