Merry Christmas in Georgian – in this article you will learn basic phrases about Christmas and ways to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Georgian.
How to wish Merry Christmas in Georgian?
Let’s start with wishes, because without it Christmas in Georgian and any other languages does not exist. The most commonly used verb is გილოცავ (gilocav), which you can translate as „I congratulate you” (singular). If you talk to a bigger group of people or to someone in a formal way, you will then say გილოცავთ (gilocavt). It comes from the verb მოლოცვა, which can be translated as” to congratulate someone”.
In English one does not use this verb when saying Merry Christmas. You just you the phrase without any verb. However in Georgian the construct is a bit different, similar to Russian, if you know this language as well. Think of it as “I congratulate you something”, because after this verb comes the occasion on which you congratulate someone.
How to say Christmas in Georgian?
Now you can look at the whole phase used during Christmas, so Merry Christmas in Georgian will be like that: შობას გილოცავ (shobas gilocav). You use it when talking to one person in an informal way. When addressing more people or in a formal way, you’ll say შობას გილოცავთ (shobas gilocavt). Therefore if you want to write on your Facebook Merry Christmas in Georgian, you will use the second one, because you wish it to all of your friends there. You may change the order as well: გილოცავ შობას (gilocav shobas) and გილოცავთ შობას (gilocavt shobas).
The word შობა means Christmas in Georgian. This is an old word for birth, so you will not use it when talking about your birthday, but if you believe in God, then you use it for God’s birthday or to be more precise Christ’s birthday.
As you congratulate someone on some occasion, this occasion, so შობა (shoba) (Christmas) will be in 3rd case, Dativ. That is why in the final sentence the word შობა ends with a letter “ს”(s).
How to say Happy New Year in Georgian?
I have a great news for you now. Here also you can use the verbs გილოცავ and გილოცავთ. Only change you do is to switch Merry Christmas in Georgian into New Year in Georgian. So it will look like that:
გილოცავ ახალ წელს (gilocav akhal cels)
გილოცავთ ახალ წელს (gilocavt akhal cels)
Here you can use the phrase New Year in Georgian which is ახალი წელი, also put in the 3rd case. And for those of you who wants to just send one wishes for both occasions, the below phrases will be useful as well:
გილოცავთ შობა-ახალ წელს! (gilocavt shoba-akhal cels) – when talking to many people or in a formal way
გილოცავ შობა-ახალ წელს! (gilocav shoba-akhal cels) – when talking informal
Have you noticed by the way that in English you have adjectives like merry or happy and in Georgian there are none of those? That is probably a cultural difference.
Merry Christmas in Georgian – useful mini dictionary
If you already know how to pass the most common wishes, let’s not look at few words useful when talking about Christmas in Georgian. Let’s start with the word a gift, which in Georgian will be საჩუქარი (sachukari). In case you have many gifts or presents under your Christmas tree, you will use საჩუქრები (sachukrebi), so presents/gifts.
In case you look for a gift connected with the Caucasus for your friends and family, we have a whole episode about it! Listen to episode of The Caucasus Podcast, the podcast about Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and North Caucasus, where you will find 5 ideas for a gift connected with the Caucasus (not only for Christmas).
We have the gift, so they are sometimes under Christmas tree, which in Georgian will be საშობაო ნაძვის ხე (sashobao nadzvis he) or just ნაძვის ხე (nadzvis he). The first word, საშობაო (sashobao) is an adjective which you can translate as for Christmas or of Christmas. Therefore you can use it not only with tree, but with other thinks as well. The second part, ნაძვის ხე also we would translate as a Christmas tree, but it consist of two words: ნაძვი (nadzvi; spruce) and ხე (he; tree). When talking not about Christmas in Georgian, but about biology, you will use just ნაძვი.
The Christmas tree in Georgian you know already, so often it is decorated. That is why you may need the word მორთული (mortuli) meaning decorated in Georgian. Of course during Christmas time decorated can be a gift, a table, a window or many other things, so with all of them you may use მორთული (mortuli).
Last but not least, when talking about Merry Christmas in Georgian, how will be the Santa Claus in Georgian? You will say თოვლის პაპა (tovlis papa), which consists of 2 words თოვლი (tovli; snow) and პაპა (papa; one of words meaning grandfather). Sometimes you may also see the phrase თოვლის ბაბუა (tovlis babua), meaning exactly the same, because ბაბუა (babua) is an another word for grandfather.
What is left then is for us in Języki Kaukazu – Languages of the Caucasus to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And the topic of wishes we will continue in other Georgian lessons on our blog. If you do not want to miss any of the new Georgian lessons or Georgian courses we publish here, join our newsletter the Caucasian Mail.