Goal: you will say how you feel with მშიაmshia, მცივაmtsiva, მეშინიაmeshinia.
Course progress: lesson 98 / 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 emailWeek 22. A long hike
A long hike above Mtskheta with Nino and Giorgi. After two hours uphill, the complaints begin: hungry, thirsty, hot, tired. Nino has packed sandwiches for an army.
Today: the feelings of the body, said the Georgian way: "to me it is hunger".
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| მშია | mshia | I'm hungry |
| მწყურია | mts'q'uria | I'm thirsty |
| მცივა | mtsiva | I'm cold |
| მცხელა | mtskhela | I'm hot |
| მეძინება | medzineba | I'm sleepy |
| მეშინია | meshinia | I'm afraid |
| მეზარება | mezareba | I can't be bothered, I'm too lazy (to...) |
| სენდვიჩი | sendvichi | sandwich |
| ახლავე | akhlave | right now, already |
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 says "to me it is hunger" rather than "I am hungry". The person is shown at the start, as with მინდაminda:
| me | you | him, her | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| მშიაmshia | გშიაgshia | შიაshia | hungry |
| მწყურიაmts'q'uria | გწყურიაgts'q'uria | სწყურიაsts'q'uria | thirsty |
| მცივაmtsiva | გცივაgtsiva | სცივაstsiva | cold |
| მცხელაmtskhela | გცხელაgtskhela | სცხელაstskhela | hot |
| მეძინებაmedzineba | გეძინებაgedzineba | ეძინებაedzineba | sleepy |
| მეშინიაmeshinia | გეშინიაgeshinia | ეშინიაeshinia | afraid |
| მეზარებაmezareba | გეზარებაgezareba | ეზარებაezareba | can't be bothered |
For "us", use გვgv-: გვშიაgvshia, გვცივაgvtsiva, გვეშინიაgveshinia. For "you (polite)" and "them", add -თt: გშიათgshiat?, ეშინიათeshiniat.
ცივაtsiva alone (lesson 44) is "it's cold (weather)". მცივაmtsiva is "I am cold (I feel cold)". The same with ცხელაtskhela / მცხელაmtskhela.
What you are afraid of is in the -ისis form: ძაღლის მეშინიაdzaghlis meshinia, "I'm afraid of the dog", სიბნელის ეშინიაsibnelis eshinia, "he's afraid of the dark".
ასვლა მეზარებაasvla mezareba, "I can't be bothered to climb", ადგომა მეზარებაadgoma mezareba, "I'm too lazy to get up". A very Georgian, very useful verb.
These verbs also have a past: მშიოდაmshioda (I was hungry), მციოდაmtsioda (I was cold), მეშინოდაmeshinoda (I was afraid). And a change: შემცივდაshemtsivda "I got cold", მომშივდაmomshivda "I got hungry".
In Georgian, you never say "I am hungry" with ვარvar. მშიაmshia is the only way, and it is also one of the first words Georgian children learn.
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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