How to learn to write Georgian letters? This is much easier than you may think just by looking at the Georgian alphabet. That is why here, you will find some tips how to write Georgian letters.
Learning how to write the Georgian letters is often the beginning of your study of the Georgian language. It’s quite challenging to learn Georgian not knowing how to write the Georgian letters. I know that some try to write with the English equivalents of Georgian letters. However, firstly there is no ideal transliteration of the Georgian alphabet in English and any other language that at least I know. Secondly, this makes your study process much longer.
If you are also wandering how to learn Georgia alphabet in general, we have prepared for you 5-step plan to remember Georgian letters.
How does notebook for writing Georgian look like?
Did you have in the primary school a notebook with 3 lines or any other pattern that will help you learn writing faster? We have in Poland 3 lines to learn our alphabet. Georgians have also such notebooks, but in three squares. This is not a simple squared notebook, because the middle square is a bit shorter than the one above and below.
Such a notebook helps you to understand the proportions between the separate letters. After each 3 squares there is space, so you can distinguish when the row ends. If you are in Georgia, you can buy such notebook in almost all bookstores. We have prepared such forms in our study book “Let’s study Georgian alphabet”.
How to write the Georgian letters by hand?
When you start studying Georgian, you definitely have to befriend a pen, pencil or stylus (when using tablet). There is no other way to learn how to write Georgian letters than to actually write them.
So how to write the Georgian letters with your hand? You have to understand the proportions on 3 levels. Each letter can be written on minimum one of them:
- upper + middle, e.g. ბ, ხ, ზ, similar to k, l, b
- middle, e.g. ა, ი, ო, similar to a, i, o,
- middle + lower, e.g. გ, ე, ც, similar to g, j, p
- upper + middle + lower, e.g. ტ, ქ, ჭ, similar to big J
Let’s see how it looks like written using font imitating had writing by children at school:
Do the Georgian letters are written from left or from right?
The second rule that will help you with writing the Georgian alphabet is: the vast majority of letters is being written from left to right. It means that when you finish writing one letter, your pen is on the right hand side of the letter so you can start the new one from left to right. It may sound obvious, but often when you write (if Latin is your first alphabet) and not analyze how you do it. Additionally, letters written on middle and lower levels, are written from up to down direction.
How to practice writing the Georgian alphabet?
One thing is to know how to write the Georgian alphabet. The second one is to actually start writing. I also remember my “crooked” letters when I was starting learning Georgian and that constant thinking how to write them and how to get better in it.
The first way to practice writing is to do simple calligraphy exercises, writing with templates and learning how to recognize each letter. The better you remember particular letter, the faster you write it down. Here you may find helpful our study book “Let’s study Georgian alphabet”, in which we have gathered over 25 exercises and over 17 pages for only practicing the writing (including both, “school style as children learn” and “fast-writing adult style”).
The other way to practice writing in Georgian is to learn Georgian further. There is nothing more helpful in practicing Georgian writing than using it to learn first words and verbs In Georgian or writing full sentences. Then, writing becomes just a tool in learning Georgian and communicating in this language. The proficiency and speed of writing will come along with time.