Language/Georgian/Grammar/Gender
Hi Georgian learners! ๐
In this lesson, we will be covering the topic of gender in Georgian. Understanding the concept of grammatical gender is important to properly identify and use the correct articles, adjectives, and nouns, which vary in form in relation to gender.
Gender in Georgian
In Georgian, there are two genders: masculine and feminine. Unlike many Indo-European languages, Georgian does not have neuter gender. The gender of a noun is important for proper sentence construction, which is why it's important to correctly identify the gender of a noun.
An important distinction to note is that the gender of a noun is not necessarily related to its biological gender. For example, the word "mother" is masculine in Georgian (แแแแ), while the word "father" is feminine (แแแแ).
Masculine Gender
Nouns belonging to the masculine gender usually end in -แ (-i) in the nominative case. For example:
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| แแแชแ | kโatsi | man |
| แซแแ | dzma | brother |
| แแแแ | mama | father |
When masculine nouns end in -แ (-a), they behave as exception which is usually derived from verb roots.
Feminine Gender
Nouns belonging to the feminine gender usually end in -แ (-i) in the nominative case. For example:
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| แฅแแแ | kโali | woman |
| แแแแ | deda | mother |
| แกแแฎแแ | saxli | house |
When feminine nouns end in -แ (-e), they behave as exceptions.
Exceptions
Just like in any language, there are always exceptions to the rules. In Georgian, there are some nouns belonging to the masculine gender which have -แ (-a) as their nominative ending. Similarly, there are some feminine nouns which end in -แ (-e). Here are some examples:
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| แแแแ | mama | father |
| แแแแ | bebi | baby |
| แกแแแแแ | samezo | restaurant |
Practice
To practice identifying the gender of nouns, try creating simple sentences with the following nouns:
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| แแแชแ | kโatsi | man |
| แฅแแแ | kโali | woman |
| แซแแ | dzma | brother |
| แแแแ | deda | mother |
| แกแแฎแแ | saxli | house |
For example:
- Person 1: แแแชแ (kโatsi)
- Person 2: แแก แแแชแ แแแชแฎแแแ แแแแแแ. (es kโatsi machxovrebelia) (This man is a teacher.)
Conclusion
Having a basic understanding of Georgian grammatical gender will help with constructing proper sentences when using adjectives and articles. To further improve your Georgian grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
For more information on Georgian grammar, check out the Grammar page on the Georgian page on Wikipedia.
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Sources
Related Lessons
- Plurals
- The postposition of the Instrumental
- The adverbial case
- Third person pronouns
- Infinitives
- The Ergative Case
- Derivation
- The Conjugation System
- Types of Verbs
- Conditional Mood