Learn Georgian

6 minSimple Morphology and Suffixes

Let’s touch the most basic grammar concepts.

We conjugate one verb, then look at the v- and m- group, and finally talk about postpositions of location.

7 minPronouns, Negations and Conjunctions

Pronouns are used to relate to other people.

Conjunctions are mainly used for locations and logical relations.

Both are very useful!

Overview of Pronouns

Overview of Conjunctions

14 minGeorgian Morphology Full Overview

Georgian is based on roots and morphing rules — that’s how you end up with long words. When you know the patterns, you remember roots and patterns instead of long scary words.

After watching this video, Georgian words become a lot more logical and you can see their beauty. It covers the main concepts in 14 minutes, so feel free to rewatch it later!

We shared these videos for free on our Instagram page, so follow us if you want them to randomly show up. Here we share them all together so you can work through them at your own pace.

With just these short videos, you will learn how the most complex part of Georgian grammar works: the verb system.

Part 1 — History, the verb blocks, tenses, and verb endings

1 min01. Introduction

With just a few short videos each week, you will learn how the most complex part of Georgian grammar works: the verb system.

1 min02. Historic Overview

Above is some historic context. 1600 years ago the Georgian script appeared in Georgia, and 60 years later already in Bethlehem! Isn’t that cool?

1 min03. Georgian Verb System

Introducing the block system in the video above. Thinking of verbs like this will help you understand them.

1 min04. Tenses and Screeves #1

Let’s introduce each block one-by-one now. The blocks will have a separate video later.

1 min05. Tenses and Screeves #2

Now we take a look at the tenses in Georgian. There are more, but we selected the 5 most used ones, and explain how they relate to each other.

3 min06. Tenses and Screeves Examples

Now let’s settle this knowledge by going through some examples. We’ll start with the same video next week — it’s just for you to see the different blue blocks in action.

Part 2 — Preverbs, tenses, and the verb root

3 min06. Tenses and Screeves Examples

Let’s take another look at the tenses in Georgian. These are the blue blocks. Preverbs in the beginning, and suffixes at the end. There is a present/future ending. And the aorist past and the optative have a special ending.

2 min07. Preverbs

What are those preverbs again? And how to remember the correct ones for each verb? Verbs are unique by their root, their verb family (the blue suffix), and their preverb (the blue prefix).

2 min08. Directional Proverbs

And now our favourite video: the directional preverbs. Learn in 2 minutes what you will need for every verb. This is the most important part — maybe watch this one a few times?

2 min09. Verb Infinitive

The key here is that the infinitive can also be a noun. P’iri means mouth — you’re giving your word/mouth in Georgian. It’s also the root of promising something.

1 min10. Verb Root

So yeah, let’s finish with the verb root, which every Georgian verb has. Recognising verb roots is the #1 skill required for Georgian. It’s also what makes verbs irregular, because some verbs change roots between tenses.

Part 3 — Subject markers, object markers, version markers, and the imperfect

2 min11. Subjective Personal Markers

How to mark the person doing something? Usually with a Subject Marker, which has the -v- ending for the first person. Don’t hesitate to take a screenshot during the video.

1 min12. Object Markers

Up next, the Object Markers. They start with -m- for the first person and -g- for the second. Some verbs use the Object Marker to show the acting person — like Spanish’s me gusta.

1 min13. Version Markers

The next videos continue with verb versions. We can change the meaning and direction of verbs with a Version Marker: reflexive -i-, or -a- and -e- directed at another object.

2 min14. Combining Object Markers with Version Markers

What if we combine Subjective, Objective, and Version markers? We can have verbs with up to 3 actors/objects! There are some rules about this in the video above.

3 min15. Present / Future Screeve

Let’s look at some examples that will tie it all together. This is how verbs work in the present and future tense, including subject and object markers.

1 min16. Imperfect

And now a first step towards the past forms, with the simple imperfect, that just adds -di to the present verb — for things that continued for a longer time in the past.

Part 4 — The aorist, irregular verbs, verbs of movement, and the optative

1 min17. Constructing the Aorist

Let’s start with the Aorist, the unspecified or simple past. If a sentence starts with someone’s name ending in -ma, you already know it happened in the Aorist past.

2 min18. Simple VI- Aorist

Two ways of creating the past and future — one with preverbs, the other with an -i- which is used for intransitive actions (things that happen by themselves).

1 min19. Irregular Verbs

What makes verbs irregular? Usually they have different roots in the present, future, and past tense. It has nothing to do with the meaning changing with different preverbs — it’s more like not behaving according to rules.

3 min20. Irregular Verb Examples

Let’s look at some irregular examples.

3 min21. Verbs of Movement

Very important are verbs of movement. You can go rewatch the directional preverbs video to see how to remember them. Here is how to create verbs of movement.

1 min22. The Optative

And our last video is about the optative. The optative shows optionality, and you’ll see it most commonly used with minda. This is the most elegant and advanced part of the verb system.

We hope you liked them and that you will recognise the patterns!

As a reward for finishing all the verb shorts: here are 62 Georgian verbs in one pleasant PDF.

62 georgian verbs · PDF

12 minCases

The case system isn’t that complicated — we cover the whole thing in under 12 minutes. You’ll get used to it when practicing phrases or listening to people, but this knowledge helps you recognize cases when you need to. Rewatch if needed

This is the standard book used by most teachers. With the practice from this course, you’ll be able to move through it quickly. Ideally pair it with one weekly hour of private lessons — half going through the book, half conversation where your teacher records phrases based on things you tried to say. That way you learn 20–30 new phrases every lesson.

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