Language/Georgian/Grammar/Nouns

Georgian Grammar - Nouns

Hi Georgian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be focusing on Georgian grammar, specifically on nouns.

Nouns are an important part of any language, as they are used to refer to people, places, things, and ideas. In Georgian, nouns are divided into several categories based on gender, number, and case. Understanding how these categories work is essential for building your Georgian vocabulary and improving your communication skills.

Gender

Like many languages, Georgian has two genders: masculine and feminine. The gender of a noun determines which article and other modifiers it takes.

For example, the word for "book" in Georgian is წიგნი (tsigni). If we want to say "a book," we would use the masculine article, which is -ი (-i). So "a book" would be წიგნი-ი (tsigni-i).

However, if we were talking about "a table," which is not gender-specific in English, we would need to know that it is a feminine noun in Georgian. Therefore, we would use the feminine article, which is -ს (-s), to say "a table": მაგიდა-ს (magida-s).

Here is a table showing some common gendered nouns in Georgian:

Georgian	Pronunciation	English
კაცი	katsi	man
ქალი	k'ali	woman
კაცის	katsis	of a man
ქალის	k'alis	of a woman

Number

In Georgian, nouns can be either singular or plural. The plural is formed by adding the suffix -ები (-ebi) to the end of the noun.

For example, if we want to say "books" in Georgian, we would add -ები to the end of წიგნი, giving us წიგნები (tsignebi).

Here is a dialogue to illustrate how to use numbers in Georgian:

• Person 1: მაგარი წიგნები გაქვთ? (magari tsignebi gak'vit?) (Do you have any good books?)
• Person 2: დიახ, ორგანიკა კარგია. (diax, organika k'argia) (Yes, organic (chemistry) is good.)

Case

In Georgian, nouns change their form depending on their grammatical role in the sentence. This is known as "case." Georgian has seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ergative, adverbial, and vocative. Each case has its own suffix that is added to the noun.

Let's take a look at the nominative and genitive cases.

The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence. In Georgian, the nominative case is usually the same as the dictionary form of the noun.

For example:

• კაცი (katsi) means "man" in Georgian. If we want to say "the man is walking," we would use the nominative case: კაცი ვარსკვლავად ისრებს (katsi varsk'vlavad isrebs) - lit. "The man walks under the star."

The genitive case is used to show possession. In Georgian, the genitive case is formed by adding the suffix -ის (-is) to the noun.

For example:

• ფეხბის პატარა შინაურება (p'ekhbis patara shin-aureba) means "small inner courtyard" in Georgian. Here, ფეხბი (p'ekhbi) means "foot" in Georgian and is in the genitive case to show that the courtyard belongs to or is associated with a foot.

Plural forms of nouns

The plural form of some nouns in Georgian are irregular. Here are some examples:

Georgian	Pronunciation	English
ქურდი	k'urdi	wolf
თავი	tavi	language
მამა	mama	father
დედა	deda	mother

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned about gender, number, and case in Georgian nouns. Remember that using nouns correctly is key to speaking Georgian fluently, and to practice what you learned today, try making simple sentences using the different cases and forms. To improve your Georgian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Georgian Language
• Georgian Grammar
• Georgian Nouns