How many cases and tenses does Georgian have, and is it hard?
Cases, verb forms and how Georgian differs from Russian.
Short answer
Georgian has 7 cases, and verbs have about 11 series of tense and mood forms called mts'krivi (screeves). There is no grammatical gender and no capital letters, but a verb can mark both who acts and whom the action affects. That's why Georgian is considered hard, especially its verbs, though the alphabet and reading come quickly.
Why
- The cases are nominative, ergative, dative, genitive, instrumental, adverbial and vocative.
- The ergative marks the subject of some verbs in the past tense, which Russian doesn't have.
- Georgian is written as it's spoken, so reading new words is easy.
Details
Start with the alphabet and ready-made phrases, and learn the grammar gradually. Simple structures are enough for everyday talk, and locals are happy to help and correct you.
People also ask
- Is Georgian hard to learn?
The transliteration is approximate; the Georgian spelling gives the pronunciation most accurately.
The Georgian alphabetRelated questions
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What do Georgians call Russians, Armenians and other peoples?
In Georgian a Russian is rusi (რუსი) and Russia is Ruseti (რუსეთი); an Armenian is somekhi (სომეხი), an Azerbaijani azerbaijaneli (აზერბაიჯანელი) and a Ukrainian ukraineli (უკრაინელი).
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How do you say 'happy birthday' in Georgian?
'Happy birthday' in Georgian is gilotsav dabadebis dghes (გილოცავ დაბადების დღეს), or politely and to several people gilotsavt (გილოცავთ).
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How do you say 'what's your name' in Georgian?
'What's your name' in Georgian is ra gkvia (რა გქვია), or politely ra gkviat (რა გქვიათ).
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What does 'katso' mean in Georgian?
Katso (კაცო) is a casual way to address a man, from katsi (კაცი), 'man, person', roughly 'hey, man' or 'listen, mate'.


