Good morning in Georgian – there are few ways to greet someone. Some of them are used on specific time, some are universal no matter what time it is. Let’s learn those together!
One may say we have a mix of different options how to say hello or good morning in Georgian. There are words that are independent on the time of the day or how official or familiar our relations are. There are also phrases that we use only till or from specific time of the day. Those words are essential in all conversations, so it’s good to know them and the rules.
See this lesson in a form of video in our series “Georgian for beginners”
How to say “good day” in Georgian no matter what time it is?
The most neutral word for that is გამარჯობა. It is not connected with any time of the day and it does not mean neither day nor good, which you may find surprising. The word is connected with the other one – გამარჯვება – which means victory. However, one does not translate it anyway near this meaning. It is more an equivalent of our good day.
Some of you may hear the other version of this word – გამარჯობათ – which is perceived by some as more formal. However, this form is not fully grammatically correct, although many people use it. The word გამარჯობა is not a verb. Thai si why, we do not add the formal endings of the verb to this word. So you can trully use the word გამარჯობა also when addressing someone by Sir or Madam.
How to say good evening and good morning in Georgian?
Besides this neutral word გამარჯობა there are phrases dedicated to a specific time of a day, as we have in English. One may say we use “Good morning” till 10:00 a.m. and “Good evening” after 6:00 p.m. However, please remember that those timeframes are quite subjective. Therefore it many depend on whom you’ll ask you may get a different answer.
So let’s learn them now:
დილა მშვიდობისა – Good morning
საღამო მშვიდობისა – Good evening
We do not really use Good afternoon as such. Instead, we’ll say გამარჯობა. Please note that both our phrases are constructed in a similar way. Firstly, there is a word indicating the time of the day (დილა – morning, საღამო – evening). After this there comes word მშვიდობისა that is from მშვიდობა, meaning peace.
As you may see the greeting in Georgian is connected a lot with victories and peace. When you think about the history of the region and Caucasian traditions, those connections are not that much of a surprise. This is the benefit of learning local languages, better understanding of the traditions and cultural nuances as such that are not visible to other foreigners.
How to say “Hi/hello” instead of good morning in Georgian?
There is no short form of “Good morning” in Georgian or more familiar version of გამარჯობა that would be often used. We say this word towards our relatives and friends, as well as the people whom we address formally. There is a word სალამი, which comes from Arabic salam (like Salam Alejkum), but this is not commonly used phrase. In some study materials you may see it translated as hello, but you will not hear it quite often in Georgia.
This article is a part of our series about first small-talks in Georgian. We are planning publishing next articles on the beginners level that will help you with first conversations in this language. Join our Caucasian Mail (our newsletter) if you want to be informed about next articles published on our website. We also share with you informations about new live lessons for the newsletter members and interesting facts about the regions.
Check your skills with saying good morning in Georgian
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