Travel phrases

Essential Georgian travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Georgian phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first გამარჯობა to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Georgian speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Georgian travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: გამარჯობა (hello), თუ შეიძლება (please), მადლობა (thanks), and უკაცრავად, სად არის ტუალეტი? (excuse me, where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Georgian phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Georgian speakers really use, not an English list translated into Georgian, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Georgian phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 გამარჯობა Hello gah-mar-JOH-bah Works at any hour; the answer that comes back is "Gagimarjos"
  2. 2 გაგიმარჯოს Hello back gah-gee-MAR-jos What you say when someone greets you with "Gamarjoba" first; to an elder or a group make it "gagimarjot"
  3. 3 როგორ ხართ? How are you (formal)? ROH-gor KHART Answered "kargad, gmadlobt", meaning fine, thank you
  4. 4 კარგად Take care KAR-gahd The everyday goodbye, literally "well"; heard far more than "nakhvamdis"
  5. 5 ნახვამდის Goodbye, see you again nakh-VAHM-dees More formal than "kargad"; right with officials and strangers
  6. 6 კი / არა Yes / no KEE / AH-rah "Ho" is the casual yes you hear all day; "diakh" is the formal one, kept for officials and elders
  7. 7 მადლობა Thanks MAHD-loh-bah The short everyday thanks; "gmadlobt" is the polite one
  8. 8 ბოდიში Sorry BOH-dee-shee For bumping into someone or squeezing past; "ukatsravad" opens a question
  9. 9 თუ შეიძლება Please too shay-EEDZ-leh-bah Tacked onto any request; literally "if it is possible"
  10. 10 ვერ გავიგე I don't understand ver gah-VEE-geh
Show

All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

გამარჯობა Hello gah-mar-JOH-bah Works at any hour; the answer that comes back is "Gagimarjos"
გაგიმარჯოს Hello back gah-gee-MAR-jos What you say when someone greets you with "Gamarjoba" first; to an elder or a group make it "gagimarjot"
როგორ ხართ? How are you (formal)? ROH-gor KHART Answered "kargad, gmadlobt", meaning fine, thank you
კარგად Take care KAR-gahd The everyday goodbye, literally "well"; heard far more than "nakhvamdis"
ნახვამდის Goodbye, see you again nakh-VAHM-dees More formal than "kargad"; right with officials and strangers

Basics

კი / არა Yes / no KEE / AH-rah "Ho" is the casual yes you hear all day; "diakh" is the formal one, kept for officials and elders
მადლობა Thanks MAHD-loh-bah The short everyday thanks; "gmadlobt" is the polite one
ბოდიში Sorry BOH-dee-shee For bumping into someone or squeezing past; "ukatsravad" opens a question
თუ შეიძლება Please too shay-EEDZ-leh-bah Tacked onto any request; literally "if it is possible"
ვერ გავიგე I don't understand ver gah-VEE-geh
ბატონო Sir BAH-toh-noh The address form you hear in every shop, taxi and office; to a woman it is "kalbatono". Said alone with a rising voice it means yes? or pardon?, and it answers the phone

Getting around

უკაცრავად, სად არის ტუალეტი? Excuse me, where is the toilet? oo-KATS-rah-vahd sahd AH-rees too-ah-LEH-tee "Ukatsravad" is the polite way to open with any stranger
აქ გააჩერეთ, გთხოვთ Please stop here ahk gah-ah-CHEH-ret GTKHOVT Called out to the marshrutka driver as your stop comes up
ეს მარშრუტკა სად მიდის? Where does this marshrutka go? es marsh-ROOT-kah sahd MEE-dees Marshrutkas are the minibuses that cover most routes between towns
როგორ მივიდე ძველ თბილისში? How do I get to Old Tbilisi? ROH-gor mee-VEE-deh dzvel tbee-LEES-shee Swap in any place name; the ending "shi" on it means "to" or "in"
შორს არის? Is it far? SHORS AH-rees

Eating out

რას გვირჩევთ? What do you recommend? rahs GVEER-chevt Ask it anywhere; the waiter will name what the kitchen is known for
ერთი ხაჭაპური, თუ შეიძლება One khachapuri, please ER-tee kha-cha-POO-ree too shay-EEDZ-leh-bah
უგაზო წყალი, თუ შეიძლება Still water, please oo-GAH-zoh TSKAH-lee too shay-EEDZ-leh-bah Ask for water and you will be asked "gaziani" or "ugazo", sparkling or still; Borjomi and Nabeghlavi are the sparkling mineral waters on every table
ძალიან გემრიელია It's delicious DZAH-lee-ahn gem-ree-EH-lee-ah Say it to whoever cooked; in Georgia it is expected, not flattery
ანგარიში, თუ შეიძლება The bill, please ahn-gah-REE-shee too shay-EEDZ-leh-bah

Shopping

რა ფასია? How much is it? rah FAH-see-ah How a Georgian really asks a price; "ra ghirs" works too
ძალიან ძვირია That's too expensive DZAH-lee-ahn DZVEE-ree-ah Haggling belongs at the bazaar; in shops the price is the price
ბარათით შეიძლება? Can I pay by card? bah-RAH-teet shay-EEDZ-leh-bah Cards are fine in cities; marshrutkas and bazaars want cash
უბრალოდ ვათვალიერებ I'm just looking oo-BRAH-lod vaht-vah-lee-EH-reb

Emergencies

მიშველეთ! Help! MEE-shveh-let
სასწრაფო გამოიძახეთ! Call an ambulance! sahs-TSRAH-poh gah-moh-ee-DZAH-khet 112 is the single emergency number, police and ambulance both
ექიმი მჭირდება I need a doctor eh-KEE-mee MCHEER-deh-bah
დავიკარგე I'm lost dah-vee-KAHR-geh

Locals say

გაუმარჯოს! Cheers! gah-oo-MAR-jos The answer to every toast the tamada makes; raise your glass and drink
არაუშავს No problem ah-rah-OO-shahvs The everyday "never mind"; for thanks Georgians answer "arapris"
გენაცვალე My dear geh-nats-VAH-leh Warm and folksy; fine back to someone who calls you it, odd in an office
ალავერდი შენთან The toast passes to you ah-lah-VER-dee SHEN-tahn At a supra the tamada hands the toast on; now you speak, then drink
გაიხარე Thanks, bless you GAH-ee-khah-reh Warm thanks, literally be glad: friends, elders and hosts say it all day; to an elder or a group it is "gaikharet"

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files გამარჯობა next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once თუ შეიძლება and მადლობა feel automatic, the next step is a real Georgian sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

Start reading Georgian with Lingo7 →

What Georgian book fits your level? See the picks →

Not sure of your Georgian level? Take the CEFR test (A1-C2) →

How long does it take to learn Georgian? →

Compare Georgian to other languages by difficulty →

More free Georgian tools

Georgian CEFR level testCommon Georgian idiomsGeorgian false friendsGeorgian starter flashcardsHow long to learn GeorgianGeorgian IPA translatorGeorgian books by levelGeorgian verb conjugatorGeorgian vocabulary size test

Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Georgian phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is გამარჯობა (hello), თუ შეიძლება (please), მადლობა (thanks), უკაცრავად, სად არის ტუალეტი? (excuse me, where is the toilet?), and მიშველეთ! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Georgian locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Georgian for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: გაუმარჯოს! (cheers!), არაუშავს (no problem), გენაცვალე (my dear). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Georgian phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play გამარჯობა and მადლობა a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Georgian?

In Georgian, hello is გამარჯობა (pronounced gah-mar-JOH-bah) and thank you is მადლობა (MAHD-loh-bah). Add თუ შეიძლება (please) and კარგად (take care), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Georgian?

Ask უკაცრავად, სად არის ტუალეტი? (pronounced oo-KATS-rah-vahd sahd AH-rees too-ah-LEH-tee), which means "excuse me, where is the toilet?" in Georgian. If you only catch part of the reply, ვერ გავიგე (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Georgian before traveling?

No, but a dozen Georgian phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with გამარჯობა and მადლობა instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Georgian is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.