Do you want to travel to Georgia and see the beauty of its country? How about meeting new friends online and mastering the Georgian language? Before going there, you’ll need to brush up on basic greetings in Georgian to survive your first day. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Greetings are a part of everyday life and what humans are intended to do as social beings. It just comes naturally even when you’ve met your friends every single day. It starts your day positively and opens new opportunities to meet and discover new places, directions, and career opportunities too. Another reason why you’re greeting someone is to show a sign of respect.
For that reason, many languages have a formal and informal way of speaking their native language. In Georgia, there’s not much of a difference when greeting a new person. It’s possible to have more than one way of saying hello or hi in the Georgian language. You can even refer to the time or greet them in a more friendly way after knowing them for months.
So if you’re planning to become good friends with a Georgian native, you need to take the first step and say hello or gamarjoba to them. Let’s discover what are greetings in Georgian and the basics of Georgian greeting culture.
Basic Greetings In Georgian
It’s a good sign of being approachable if you would say hello or hi to an acquaintance or a family of your Georgian friend. And since Georgians have a traditional culture that still runs today, it will be often that you meet your friend’s immediate family and even their extended relatives. You’ll have to prepare a few more words before you say goodbye at least.
Regardless of not saying Georgian fluently, you can say at least a word or two when greeting a Georgian native speaker. Georgians today can understand a word or simple phrase in English. But, it will give them the delight to know you’re trying your best to learn Georgian right? If you want to impress a Georgian, then take a look at some of these basic greetings in Georgian to remember.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
| გამარჯობა | gamarjoba | Hello/Hi (formal and informal) |
| სასიამოვნოა თქვენი გაცნობა | sasiamovnoa tkveni gatsnoba |
Nice to meet you
|
| როგორ ხარ/როგორა ხარ | rogor khar/rogora khar | How do you do? |
| რა ხდება | ra khdeba? | What is up? |
| დიდი ხანია არ მინახიხართ | didi khania ar minakhikhart |
Long time no see (formal)
|
| დიდი ხანია არ მინახიხარ | didi khania ar minakhikhar |
Long time no see (informal)
|
| აქ პირველად ვარ | ak p’irvelad var | It is my first time here |
Time-Related Greetings In Georgian
Alongside the basic greeting phrases and words, you’ll have to know the right vocabulary for any time of the day. You can even replace these words as a way of saying hello, especially to strangers you just met. It’s also a great way to start conversations that will give them attention to what you’re trying to say.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
| დილა მშვიდობისა | dila mshvidobisa | Good morning |
| შუადღემშვიდობის | shuadghemshvidobis | Good afternoon |
| საღამომშვიდობისა | saghamomshvidobisa | Good evening |
Time-related salutations may vary for most people. Saying dila mshvidobisa (good morning) starts at 5 AM or 6 AM in Georgia until 11:59 AM which is similar to many other countries. It’s appropriate to sayshuadghemshvidobis or Good afternoon from 12:00 PM to 5:59 PM.
When you want to say saghamomshvidobisa or Good Evening, you can start saying it from 6 PM onwards. There are not really many greetings for dawn or dusk as it is with any other language. You can still greet them good morning when you wake up or good evening if it’s your time to go to bed soon.
Replying To Basic Words And Phrases For Greetings
The Georgian language is fun, right? We also have a few phrases you’ll use to reply to Georgian locals. You can mix these phrases with common Georgian vocabulary. You could also start introducing yourself in Georgian after you’ve greeted a native speaker. Brace yourself, it’s important to reply right away after being welcomed by the locals. We’ve got some words you can generally use any time you meet someone new!
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
| კარგად ვარ, შენ? | k’argad var, shen? |
I’m fine and you?
|
| მიხარია ისევ შენი ნახვა | mikharia isev sheni nakhva |
Nice to see you again
|
| სად იყავი | sad iq’avi? |
Where have you been?
|
| Რა გქვია? | ra gkvia? |
What’s your name?
|
| დიდი მადლობა | didi madloba |
Thank you very much
|
Facts About Greeting Georgian People
Why is it important to greet someone? As we’ve mentioned earlier, there are many significant reasons that humans interact with each other. It’s a social habit that will kick off any relationship that may bloom.
When meeting someone for the first time, it’s common to shake hands and even receive a kiss on the cheek while saying gamarjoba (გამარჯობა). You can mention that person as a bat’ono (ბატონო) or sir in English or kalbat’ono (ქალბატონო) or ma’am in English with their first or last name attached.
Formal words are often dropped after meeting two to three times, or even when you meet a very friendly and open Georgian at that moment. In the Georgian culture, it’s easy to meet heartwarming and welcoming locals. When visiting a Georgian family, don’t forget to be eager in your conversations. Always be polite and observe traditions with reverence. Don’t forget to smile and after a while, you’ll be used to all the praises and small talk that you’ll get from the elderly and adults.
Now that you have discovered a few Georgian phrases, let’s amp up your Georgian vocabulary with an app that you will surely use daily. Don’t say goodbye yet! We have a bonus app that you can bring while you’re on the road, if you’re busy working or studying, or if you are traveling to other countries.
Continue Your Georgian Conversations With Ling
When you want to learn a new language, greetings are some of the first words and phrases you’ll encounter. Of course, you’ll not just say good morning, goodbye, and good night all the time. Also, you need to strike up real conversations to actually use them and continue your conversations. This situation is true in any word you’ll have to memorize and eventually, you will need a handy app or language-learning technique to use.
If you want to learn Georgian, Arabic, Russian, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu, or any other language, there is a fun, interactive app like Ling. It has 200+ lessons filled with various topics like how to order in restaurants, ask for directions, and other basic Georgian phrases and words to ponder. How cool is that for a total beginner? You can even chat with an AI chatbot to practice your pronunciation or even try writing that alphabet you’re struggling with. What’s more, is that many of the topics are completely free.
Download the Ling app on your Play Store or App Store and expand your knowledge of the Georgian language. It’s also easy to set up a free account too! So what are you waiting for? Join us in mastering languages now!
