What is Georgian?
Georgian is spoken by several million people, primarily in Georgia (საქართველო, sakartvelo), where it is the language of government, school, media, and everyday life — from Tbilisi markets to mountain villages. It also serves as a common language among the region's other tongues (Mingrelian, Svan, Laz, which are its Kartvelian relatives).
English speakers call the country "Georgia" — but Georgians call it Sakartvelo, and the language kartuli ena. This course teaches modern standard Georgian — the form used in cities, media, and education today.
What makes Georgian different from English
Four features shape almost every Georgian sentence — and this course is built around them:
| Feature | What it is | Where you learn it |
|---|---|---|
| Mkhedruli script | Georgia's own 33-letter alphabet — curvy, one case, and almost perfectly phonetic. | Alphabet article |
| Ejective consonants | Three-way consonant contrast: aspirated (t), ejective (t'), and voiced (d) — ejectives don't exist in English. | Sounds article |
| Noun cases | Noun endings mark roles such as possession, direction, location, and source — jobs often handled by prepositions in English. | Cases article |
| Person-agreeing verbs | Verbs change shape for I / you / he-she — and for much more, but beginners only need a few fixed forms. | Verbs article |
None of these map neatly onto English, so we teach each one carefully with many examples.
Two pieces of good news: there is no grammatical gender (no masculine/feminine noun classes to memorize), and no articles — "book" can mean "a book" or "the book" depending on context.
The Mkhedruli script
Georgian is written in Mkhedruli (მხედრული) — 33 letters, all one case (no capitals vs lowercase in normal writing). Older scripts (Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri) survive in church texts and decorative titles, but daily reading and writing is all Mkhedruli. Letters map to sounds almost one-to-one: once you know the letters, you can read any word aloud.
How to use this course
The 14 articles move from script & sounds to core grammar to words & daily use to travel. Read them in order if you're new — each builds on the last. Georgian words appear in bold Georgian script with a learning transliteration and English glosses, and the ▶ button plays a native-style female voice (Azure ka-GE-EkaNeural, Standard tier).
A word on transliteration: this site uses one consistent learning spelling (t' marks ejective consonants, kh/gh for the throat fricatives). It is a reading aid — the audio is the authority.
Your first five phrases
| Georgian | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა | gamarjoba | hello (all-purpose) |
| დილა მშვიდობისა | dila mshvidobisa | good morning |
| მადლობა | madloba | thank you |
| ბოდიში | bodishi | sorry · excuse me |
| ნახვამდის | nakhvamdis | goodbye |
Say them aloud now — Georgian has consonants English lacks, and the earlier your ear tunes in, the easier everything after gets.
Mini practice
Q1. Georgian is written in…
- Cyrillic
- the Mkhedruli script
- the Latin alphabet
- Arabic script
Answer: the Mkhedruli script
Q2. Georgian belongs to…
- the Slavic family
- the Turkic family
- the Kartvelian family
- the Romance family
Answer: the Kartvelian family
Q3. Mkhedruli has…
- 26 letters, two cases
- 33 letters, one case
- 33 letters, two cases
- no fixed alphabet
Answer: 33 letters, one case
Q4. Georgian has…
- three grammatical genders
- no grammatical gender
- masculine and neuter only
- articles a/the
Answer: no grammatical gender
Q5. 'Georgia' in Georgian is…
- საქართველო (sakartvelo)
- ჯორჯია (jorjia)
- კავკასია (k'avk'asia)
- თბილისი (tbilisi)
Answer: საქართველო (sakartvelo)
