კ — kani (ejective)
«kani (ejective)» is a consonant of Georgian, the “Georgian alphabet (mxedruli)” script, read as “k'”. A sharp k with a catch in the throat and no puff of air. The Georgian alphabet has 33 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. კარი is 'door'. It pairs with ქ: ქარი is 'wind'. It appears, for example, in the word “კარგად” — well.
In short
| Character | კ |
| Name | kani (ejective) |
| Sound | k' |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 11th of 33: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ნ and ქ, appears in 585 words of this site.
How it sounds
A sharp k with a catch in the throat and no puff of air
Other written forms
The same character is written differently on a shop sign and in a book. Here are all the forms you may meet.
| Form | Character | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mtavruli | Კ | the display style: signs, headings, all-caps lettering |
The character in the “sharp and aspirated pairs” group
The whole difficulty of Georgian lives here. An untrained ear hears one sound where Georgian hears two different words: კარი is 'door', ქარი is 'wind'. On the left the sharp one (with a catch in the throat), on the right the one with a puff of air.
Words with this character
- კარგადkargadwell
- ძალიან კარგადdzalian kargadvery well
- უკაცრავადukatsravadexcuse me
- ინგლისურად ლაპარაკობთ?inglisurad laparakobt?do you speak English?
- ბანკიbankibank
- დავიკარგეdavikargeI am lost
- ვკითხულობvkitkhulobto read
- ვლაპარაკობvlaparakobto speak
- კილოგრამიkilogramikilogram
- ფასის ეტიკეტიpasis etiketiprice tag
- ფასდაკლებაpasdaklebadiscount
- საბანკო ბარათიsabanko baratibank card
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound, see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 33 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Georgian character კ read?
As “k'” — it is a consonant of the “Georgian alphabet (mxedruli)” script. A sharp k with a catch in the throat and no puff of air.
What is the letter კ called?
Kani (ejective). A character's name and its sound are different things in the Georgian script: it is called “kani (ejective)” and reads as “k'”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can კ be confused with?
კარი is 'door'. It pairs with ქ: ქარი is 'wind'. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.