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What does 'ara' mean in Georgian?

No, yes, and why 'ara' gets confused with an Armenian word.

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Short answer

In Georgian, ara (არა) means 'no', while 'yes' is ki (კი) in conversation or diakh (დიახ) politely. The word 'ara' meaning 'buddy, hey' is Armenian; it has no such meaning in Georgian. So if you hear 'ara' in Georgia, take it as a refusal or a negative.

Russian-Georgian phrasebook faq-cover-georgian-language.png

Why

  1. Ara, ar vitsi means 'no, I don't know'.
  2. Ki is short and easy to miss, so people sometimes double-check.
  3. A polite refusal is ara, gmadlobt, 'no, thank you'.

Details

Other handy short words: ar (არ) is the negative particle 'not', and ar mesmis (არ მესმის) means 'I don't understand'.

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