მი-, მო-, ჩა-, გადა-: the prefix decides where the action goes
Fifty verbs of motion need no cramming. The root barely changes; direction is set by the prefix in front of it. Learn a dozen prefixes and half of an unknown verb reads itself. For example: “ბავშვი ფანჯარას მიუახლოვდა, ზამთარი კი მოახლოვდა” — The child walked up to the window, and winter drew near. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Fifty verbs of motion need no cramming. The root barely changes; direction is set by the prefix in front of it. Learn a dozen prefixes and half of an unknown verb reads itself.
The two main ones: მი- and მო-. მი- leads away from the speaker, მო- leads toward him. Hence მისვლა (misvla) — to go there, მოსვლა (mosvla) — to come here. Hence also მიახლოება (miakhloeba) — to approach, მოახლოება (moakhloeba) — to draw near.
Up and down: ა-, ჩა-, ჩამო-. ასვლა (asvla) — up, ჩასვლა (chasvla) — down and in, ჩამოსვლა (chamosvla) — from above down to the speaker. The same ჩა- works figuratively: ჩაღრმავება (chaghrmaveba) — to go deep into a matter.
Across and around: გადა-, შემო-, გამო- (gamo). გადაბრუნება (gadabruneba) — to flip over, შემოვლა (shemovla) — to walk around, გამორკვევა (gamorkveva) — to come out clear.
Table
| prefix | where to | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| მი- | away from the speaker | მიახლოება | to approach |
| მო- | toward the speaker | მოახლოება | to draw near |
| ა- | up | ასვლა | to climb |
| ჩა- | down, in | ჩავარდნა | to fall into |
| ჩამო- | from up to down | ჩამოსვლა | to come down |
| გადა- | across | გადაბრუნება | to flip over |
| შემო- | around, in | შემოვლა | to go around |
| გამო- | out | გამორკვევა | to become clear |
| გან- | aside, away | განზე გადგომა | to step aside |
| და- | down and to the end | დაწევა | to catch up |
By example
- ბავშვი ფანჯარას მიუახლოვდა, ზამთარი კი მოახლოვდაbavshvi panjaras miuakhlovda, zamtari ki moakhlovdaThe child walked up to the window, and winter drew near
- მეოთხე სართულზე ავედი და მერე ჩამოვედიmeotkhe sartulze avedi da mere chamovediI went up to the fourth floor and then came down
- ბურთი ღობეზე გადააგდო და ტბა შემოვიარაburti ghobeze gadaagdo da tba shemoviaraHe threw the ball over the fence and walked around the lake
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
the prefix decides where the action goes: how does it work in Georgian?
Fifty verbs of motion need no cramming. The root barely changes; direction is set by the prefix in front of it. Learn a dozen prefixes and half of an unknown verb reads itself.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ბავშვი ფანჯარას მიუახლოვდა, ზამთარი კი მოახლოვდა” (bavshvi panjaras miuakhlovda, zamtari ki moakhlovda) — The child walked up to the window, and winter drew near. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.